Breaking Ground
by kEs-2717
Summary: The BSquad rangers have been appointed to protecting the foreign ambassadors daughter, which to Sky is a childish job for someone else. But what no one expects is a certain bond to form between two very unlikely individuals. SKYOC
1. The Punches Just Keep on Rolling

He was furious, how could Cruger expect the team to do this?

"Permission to speak freely, Commander." Schuyler Tate requested formally.

"Permission granted Cadet."

"Sir, we are Power Rangers, not baby sitters. Surely there are other matters that demand our attention over …. **_this_**."

"Unfortunatly, Cadet, that is not in your jurisdiction. You will go forward with the mission that was given to you. Dismissed." Sky saluted, and walked out of the meeting area behind his teammates, still fuming about the assignment he had given them. What business was it of theirs to protect the ambassadors daughter? Understandably, it would make sense for someone who wished to make a political statement to indirectly attack the ambassador, but he didn't understand why it required the power rangers to do it. Being the ambassador, shouldn't he have a squadron of Secret Service Agents commissioned by the President anyway?

Giving up on further advancing his already incessant headache, he decided to postpone further thoughts of the ridiculously childish assignment until post-pain killer taking. He paused momentarily as the doors to his room that he shared with Bridger Carson. To his disappointment, he was in the room, which would make it impossible for him to have the peace and quiet he needed to get rid of his migraine in process. Giving a small smile to his roommate as he entered, he walked purposefully to his small stash of migraine medications which he kept with his vast vitamin collection. Bridge, being psychic, noticed something off about his roommate right away.

"You okay Sky? You seem a little off." He said carefully. Not looking up from his place at the small counter in their room, he replied.

"And what would lead you to that conclusion?"

"Well, aside from the fact that I'm your roommate, and have been for the past few years might I add, I'm also slightly psychic….You know, in case you forgot." Not being in the mood for Bridges typical facetious 'I'm going to make you think that we're both stupid' sense of humor, he gave a disgruntled chuckle, shook his head, and kicked back some more water. It was time to go to his favorite secret spot. "Dude.." Bridge started again, "if you ever, you know, want to talk, I'm here to listen. I'm still your friend, whether or not you're the red ranger. Syd too, what color you wear doesn't matter to us, and I hate to see it push you farther away form what you could be." Sky gave a heavy sigh, and placed his hand on Bridges shoulder in a brotherly manner.

"Thank you Bridge, but right now, I need to be alone. I'll see you later." He let his hand slide away as he walked out the door, to some destination that no one but him, and possibly Commander Cruger, knew about.

He sat in front of the large bay window, trying to think about how this whole mess had come about. Not only had he failed to become the red ranger, but he now had to baby sit the ambassadors daughter. Coping with the whole Red Ranger business was hard enough. Ever since he had come to the Space Patrol Delta academy, he had worked day in and day out to be the best cadet that the academy had ever produced. And from his test scores, and training evaluations, his work had not been in vain. But why, then, did he not receive the title that he felt he deserved. Jack Landors was nothing more than a petty thief who deserved to be locked away in file storage to pay for the crimes he had knowingly committed, not handed one of the greatest honors to ever grace the S.P.D., and possibly even the world. He knew that he was being bitter, and holding grudges, both characteristics he knew to be childish and undesirable, but he couldn't help it; he couldn't help feeling that something had been stolen from him. And who better to do it than the thief he and the other members of the B-Squad were supposed to catch.

As to this whole babysitting business, he couldn't help but feel, if possible, even more demoted than he had after the whole Red Ranger ordeal. Had he worked this hard, and this long to become a power ranger for this? To baby sit someone's daughter? He never remembered hearing anything about the A-Squad babysitting anyone, Ambassadors daughter or otherwise. He sighed, all this thinking about crappy things was doing him no good, especially not for his migraine. He resigned to gazing out the window, and the spectacular view that he enjoyed so much as a child, feeling all the childhood drain out of him as his stony gaze stared down anything in it's path.

He saw Sydney on his walk back to his dormitory, the pink in her uniform standing out in the semi-darkness of the dimly lit corridor in the upper hall.

"You're out late." He heard her say good-naturedly. He shrugged.

"I got lost in my thoughts, I lost track of time." Avoiding eye contact with her, he kept his eyes focused on a middle space on the wall. Her eyebrows contracted.

"Sky, I wasn't criticizing you, I was just trying to be friendly. I'm still your friend right?" The worry in her voice shone through, hitting close to home. He sighed deeply, for what seemed to be the millionth time that night.

"I know Syd. Look, I'll catch up with you later, I need to get to bed, the ambassadors daughter is coming tomorrow."

"Is that what this is about Sky? The ambassadors daughter?" He flared his nostrils again, and breathed deeply. "Because if it is, don't let it get to you. The Delta A-Squad may not have done it recently, but I know that the Gamma's and the Sigma's did it lots of times. It's not a big deal, and it's only temporary. I know you've been under a lot of stress lately, but don't let this get to you, its not worth it." She grasped his arm gently, in a sisterly like manner. He knew that she was just trying to help, but he was sick of that, he wanted to do this on his own. He started to say something, but he was cut off by Sydney once again. "I know that you feel like you have something to prove, but Sky, don't let this turn inward. I know that you hold grudges, believe me when I say that, but if you go into this with a bad attitude, nothing good will come of it. You never know, maybe she'll be the coolest chick you ever meet, possibly even cooler than me." She punched his arm jokingly. "Now get to bed, I can't have my favorite blue ranger even crankier on the job than he normally is." Sky smiled half-heartedly at her stab at his most common mood.

"Good night Sydney." He said with finality.

"Good night Buster." She said sweetly, walking in the opposite direction from him, as her room was down the other hall. He had a lot to think about tonight.


	2. Thoughts, Seminars, and Waiting with Bat...

**Authors Note: Okay, since I didn't put a disclaimer on the last chapter, because I'm a complete dumbass, let me add one now! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers (even though it would be really awesome if I did!), the only things that I own are the planet Phylia (if it actually exists, then I'm sorry, I just thought of a random name off the top of my head!) the Ambassador, and the Ambassadors daughter, because they are characters of my own making!**

**Authors Note 2: Please please please tell me what you think! I love hearing from you! Whether its reviews or emails, tell me! No flames though, because those are childish.**

His alarm went of, as per usual, at 6:30. Opening his eyes slowly, and adjusting to the growing light in the room, he heard Bridge give a moan of displeasure from across the room. His room mate had never really been a morning person, but it was Sky's ritual to run in the morning. It gave him the endorphins he needed to survive the day, and helped give him an advantage over the rest of the cadets at the academy. Pulling on a royal blue hoodie over his blue track pants, he slipped the hood over his head, and placed the headphones for his iPod into his ears. He walked out the door, without saying a word and headed to the streets to complete his morning ritual.

Listening to music while he ran was like breathing for him. It gave him a beat to run to, sometimes faster when he felt the need to push himself, sometimes slower when he knew he needed to back off, but most importantly, it stimulated his thought process and allowed him to think through things that would have normally taken him days. He adjusted the volume on one of his favorite songs by the Crystal Method called "Weapons of Mad Distortion." It was his anthem for when he was angry and needed to get things off of his chest, and this morning definitely fit that description. He felt like everything that had been stressing him out was falling to the pavement with every stride he took. And while he still didn't like, or respect Jack as a leader, he was learning to adapt to his new life as the second in command.

He took his usual trail around the park, through the grove of trees, around the gardens, and back the same way he came. The silence of his outer surroundings helped calm him, and allowed him to focus completely on his run, and his thoughts. The surroundings were serene, and not distracting, a far cry from those at the academy. He finally got back to S.P.D. headquarters around 8:00. _'Great'_ he thought to himself. _'Just enough time to take a shower before the Weapons Seminar, and the Ambassador and his daughter arrive." _He gave a sigh, preparing himself for the very long day ahead, and walked into the building.

The weapons seminar was long, and fairly boring as usual. Although Kat tried her best to make it interesting, it seemed to be the same technology in the same weapons over and over again. Syd tapped her pencil idly, Bridge secretly read a computer magazine behind his debriefing folder, Jack quietly slept, and Z doodled. But out of respect for Kat, and the desire to look more professional and above his teammates, Sky put on the façade of extreme interest, and asked questions that he thought pertinent to the situation. He wasn't hell bent on looking better than everyone else, it was just a habit he had acquired over the years of striving to become the red ranger.

After the seminar was finally over, the team assembled in the main chamber to welcome the ambassador and his daughter. Before they arrived, Commander Cruger addressed them.

"Cadets, as I told you briefly yesterday, you have been charged with guarding the foreign ambassador to Phylia's daughter. Because of Grumm and his persistence in trying to take over the galaxy, other planets are feeling hostile to each other, as you know. Ambassador Gabrey was recalled after the President deemed the planet to be unsafe for the ambassador and his family. Now, because some of these hostiles are devious and underhanded, they have been posing threats against his only remaining family member, his daughter. Ambassador Gabrey is very protective of her, and will go to great lengths to make sure that she stays safe, and I trust that you all will do your very best to make sure nothing happens to her. She will be positioned directly in the middle of your respective chambers as to provide easier access in the event of an emergency. At least one of you will have to accompany her wherever she goes, regardless of where it may be. The only time she is to leave your sight is if she retires to her private chambers. Is this all carefully understood?"

"Yes Sir!" The rangers stated in unison.

"Good, Ambassador Gabrey and his daughter should arrive momentarily."

I know that in the year 2020, iPod's will probably be obsolete, but it sounded good, and it was one of the only things that was somewhat technologically advanced that I could think of, so please excuse my lack of technological knowledge! Thanks guys!


	3. The Arrival Chaos Ensues

**Authors Note: You guys really need to start reviewing my story! It makes me sad and makes me think no one is reading it! Just Kidding. But it really would be great if you guys would drop me a line and tell me what you think! I appreciate it, and I hope you enjoy chapter 3.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers (even though it would be really awesome if I did!), the only things that I own are the planet Phylia (if it actually exists, then I'm sorry, I just thought of a random name off the top of my head!) the Ambassador, and the Ambassadors daughter, because they are characters of my own making!**

Breaking Ground : The Arrival Chaos Ensues

The air was thick with apprehension. No one really knew what to expect from the Ambassadors daughter. Her father was so protective, that there were no photographs of her other than her driver's license, and those that existed in her fathers private archives, both of which they weren't allowed to access. They had a very vague idea of what she looked like and what she was like. The loudspeaker conveyed their arrival to the rest of the B-Squad who stood at attention in the briefing room, waiting for the two of them to walk through the doors.

Sky stood in his usual manner, chin up, eyes straight ahead, and chest puffed out; anything to make those who came upon him intimidated by his stature. His mind was still racing after his morning run, and the weapons seminar and the briefing from Cruger didn't help much either. From what he could gather, the Ambassador would see to it that anyone who touched his daughter would suffer the utmost consequences, whether it be by the law, or by the Ambassador himself, which didn't make any of the cadets look forward to their job. Not to mention that at least one of them was supposed to be with her at all times, which would make their ranger and training duties much more difficult than they had been in the past.

His thought process was interrupted by the hydraulic doors opening revealing Kat, followed by a very tall and handsome man, whom Sky guessed to be the Ambassador. He was dressed professionally in a navy blue pinstriped suit, with a crisp white shirt, and a powder blue tie. He had a smile on his face as he walked over to Commander Cruger.

"Anubis!" He greeted warmly, grasping the Commanders hand. "How have you been? I haven't seen you since this place was first being built! My god it's come a long way!" A smile graced the Commanders features as well as he shook the ambassador's hand.

"I've been well Barren, very well, and from your looks, and your demeanor, you seem to be doing quite well yourself."

"I've been trying to keep a positive outlook on this whole situation with Phylia. It was really hard to leave, especially on Khyla, and I've been trying like hell to keep my head out of the political aspect of it, but I can't disobey a direct order from the President, so, here we are!"

"Well, I'm glad that you're here." Cruger said sincerely. He turned from the ambassador to face the Cadets. "Ambassador Barren Gabrey, I would like for you to meet the B-Squad Space Patrol Delta Cadets, and acting Power Rangers, they will be the ones in charge of guarding your daughter." He followed Cruger over to the Cadets, and looked at them with satisfaction. "This is Cadet Bridge Carson, acting Green Ranger, Cadet Elizabeth Delgado, acting Yellow Ranger, Cadet Schuylar Tate, acting Blue Ranger, Cadet Sydney Drew, acting Pink Ranger, and Cadet Jack Landors, acting Red Ranger." The ambassador went down the line and shook each of their hands, and smiled at them sincerely.

"Well I must say Anubis, you have a high quality team here, and I'm sure that they will do an excellent job protecting Khyla."

"Speaking of your daughter, Barren, where is she?" The Ambassador smiled at the mention of his, as Sky put it, Pride and Joy.

"She's just gathering her things. She should be along in just a moment." As soon as he finished his sentence, the hydraulic doors opened again to reveal another figure entering the room. Sky's attention was distracting, and his breath caught in his throat.

Khyla Gabrey was beyond beautiful. Her demeanor reflected confidence, even in front of strangers, and a humble elegance that floated from her movements. Her misty gray eyes, adorned with light amounts of make-up, took in all her surroundings. He saw the left side of her mouth flinch slightly into an instantaneous half smile that lasted for a split second, before disappearing to show her natural features once more. Her long, chestnut brown hair was left down in soft waves with layers that framed the refined bone structure of her face. Her lips were full and pouty, a shiny coat of sheer lip gloss glazed over them which accentuated her features. She was athletically built, but one look at the way she walked so gracefully in her pointy toed, stiletto boots and it was obvious that she was an agile creature. She was dressed casually in a pair of long, fitted, dark jeans with a faint stonewash on the front, and whiskers by her hips. She wore a sheer, white, cotton button down shirt that was adorned by faded blue stripes. She carried a purse under one arm, and a duffel bag on the other.

"Ah, there's my girl." The ambassador said proudly. She did her half smile once again, as she walked to her father's side, taking her sunglasses off the top of her head, and dropping them into her bag. "Commander Anubis Cruger, meet my daughter, Khyla Gabrey, Khyla, this is Commander Cruger." Khyla smiled fully, revealing her perfectly straight rows of white teeth.

"It's so nice to finally meet you" she said genuinely, extending her hand to accept his, and shaking it firmly. "My father has told me so much about you and how much you did for him during the beginning of his political career." Cruger smiled, obviously charmed by the young woman.

"And it is wonderful to finally meet you Miss Gabrey; your father has often regaled me with tales of your adventures on Phylia." She smiled again, a small laugh escaping her lips.

"Please, call me Khyla. And I hope he hasn't told you too much, you may not want me here." Cruger laughed.

"It wasn't anything too horrible." The commander said, letting her hand go. "But I must inform you, that the regulations here are going to be much stricter than what you are accustomed to on Phylia. We were assigned a job to protect you, and I intend to make sure that job is completed to the best of Space Patrol Delta's abilities." Khyla nodded.

"Oh, I understand completely."

"Wonderful. Khyla let me introduce you to those who will be in charge of protecting you." He motioned towards the B-Squad who were still standing at attention. She followed him as he took the few steps towards his Cadets. "Khyla Gabrey, meet Bridge Carson, acting Green Ranger, Elizabeth Delgado, acting Yellow Ranger, Schuylar Tate, acting Blue Ranger, Sydney Drew, acting Pink Ranger, and Jack Landors, acting Red Ranger." She, like her father, shook each of their hands and smiled greatly at each of them while they were introduced to her.

"Wow," she marveled. "Are you sure that this isn't going to distract them from any of their other duties, because I would really hate to be a disturbance among their daily events." She said with concern.

"Unless an absolute emergency takes place, there will be nothing out of the ordinary here, save for your presence, which will be a breath of fresh air." Khyla smiled at the compliment. "At ease Cadets." She watched the change in their demeanor as it went from Militant-Formal, to Militant-Casual, which she preferred much more. It was unnerving to watch someone stand so still. "The cadets will show you to your room. Now if you'll excuse us Khyla, your father and I have some unfinished business to take care of. Carry on cadets." Khyla waved at her father as he and Anubis walked out of the room, through the hydraulic doors, and out of sight. She was immediately thrown back into the situation by the blonde pink ranger stepping forward.

"Hello Ms. Gabrey, is there anything we can help you with?" She asked politely. Khyla turned to face her, smiling again.

"Oh, please call me Khyla. And I'm pretty sure that I can carry this, it's not really that heavy, just has a few immediate necessities. By the way, I love your hair, how do you get it to be so curly?" Syd laughed heartily.

"Thank you! It takes me a little while, but I think it's worth it. If you'll follow us, we'll show you where your room is."

"Thanks." The rest of the rangers filed out of the room, Syd staying by Khyla's side.

"Are you sure you don't want me to carry anything?" Syd asked again.

"Yeah, it's okay, I can handle it. Contrary to what my father likes to think and project, I'm not a delicate little flower that needs to be taken care of constantly."

"You get that too? God I hate it when people do that. My parents did that with me too, and everyone thinks that I'm helpless just because I'm a girl and I'm cute. It's very frustrating."

"Ugh! I know! It's like, just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I can't kick ass with the rest of them!"

"I know!" Syd exclaimed. Khyla could tell she was going to get along with this girl very well.

It was all Khyla could do try and remember the hallways they turned down to get to the residential area. Her normal attempts at finding landmarks were in vain, since every hall looked exactly the same. They turned another corner to find a corridor lined with doors which Khyla assumed was the residential area of the SPD headquarters. Syd slowed to a halt in front of a door that was situated directly in the middle of the hall.

"This is your room, just push the button on the right side of the door, and they'll slide right open." Syd demonstrated, opening the doors to reveal a square shaped room with a bed in one corner, and assorted furniture scattered throughout. "You're right in between mine and Z's room, and Sky and Bridges room, so if anything happens we'll be right here to help. Don't hesitate to call if you need anything, okay?"

"Thanks Sydney, I appreciate it."

"No problem, and please, call me Syd, Sydney sounds more like a stage name that was used previously in my lifetime. Well, I'll leave you to unpack your stuff. If you leave, just come get me or one of the other Cadets first, okay?" Khyla nodded.

"Will do. Thanks Syd, see you later." Syd waved as she walked through the doors. This was going to be a long few months.


	4. Situating, Decorating, and Altercating

**Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, or anything that comes along with them. All I own is Khyla and everything that encompasses her. With that said, on we go!**

**Authors Note: Martieal, thank you so so so much for reviewing! You seriously made my day. For a little while I was actually thinking about removing the story, but since someone is reading it, I decided to leave it up and continue it. If you are reading it, and you haven't posted a review, please do, because it makes me happy and makes me feel like I have a purpose in writing. Thanks y'all, and on with chapter 4!**

**Breaking Ground **

**Chapter 4 : Situating, Decorating, and Altercating**

**Sky's POV**

As he watched Syd explain the gist of things to Khyla from his doorframe, he felt intrigued by the new girl they were supposed to be protecting. Granted, he still thought their new mission to be childish, but there was something about her that sparked his interest. Something that hadn't happened since he first came to the academy so many years ago. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Syd walk towards him, a half smile on her face. He pushed himself off of the doorframe, and walked back into his room, finding Bridge in his usual handstand position against the wall, and Jack sitting on Bridges bed, talking with him. Sky headed over to his side of the room and sat on his bed as the doors to their room opened and Syd walked through, followed shortly after by Z.

"So what do you all think of this new girl?" Z asked with mild interest. A large smile broke out on both Bridges and Jacks faces, as they looked at eachother and shared a small laugh. "What?"

"She's hot." Jack said simply. "Man, if I had known that we would be watching over a girl who looked that good, I wouldn't have been dreading this so much. I'm actually kinda looking forward to spending some quality time with Miss Gabrey."

"Oh shut up Jack, you know that if you touched her, her father would kick your ass to hell and back without blinking an eye." Z chided.

"What Daddy doesn't know won't hurt him." Jack said mischeviously. Z picked up a pillow that was laying on the floor and threw it at him. He shrunk back to try and minimize the attack, and laughed. "Z, I was just kidding, you know, trying to get a rise out of you." He said, setting the pillow aside. She looked at him skeptically.

"Although, she is very physically attractive." Bridge commented, "And from what I've seen, she has a pretty good personality and disposition."

"And she's really hot." Jack commented again.

"Come on you guys," Syd said with a small frown "you should get to know her, she's a really sweet girl. And she dresses really well, too. I should ask her what she thinks of my new shoes." Z rolled her eyes.

"She seems like a pretty cool chick. I can't really say yet, but at the moment I think I could hang out with her without tossing my cookies from over-girliness." She added. "What about you Sky? You have yet to add to the conversation about our lovely Miss Khyla Gabrey." Sky looked at her with his trademark cocked eyebrow, and a look that clearly conveyed that she drop the subject.

"Oh come on Sky," Syd chimed in, "you must have some thoughts on the girl. I saw you watching me explain stuff to her." Sky sighed and rolled his eyes.

"I think that this whole assignment is childish, and a waste of time. Granted, she may be an okay girl, but her 'attractiveness' has nothing to do with us getting our job done. All she's going to do is be a distraction to what we need to accomplish." The assembled party sat for a moment before bursting into laughter.

"Quit being such a hard-ass Sky, it's really not that big of a deal. All we have to do is make sure she doesn't get killed or kidnapped, the whole deal with Phylia ends, she goes home, we're done. Think of it as a patience and tolerance development crash course. Now, who's up for some light ball?" Z asked, pushing herself off of her chair.

"I'm game." Bridge stated, falling haphazardly off the wall, causing the others to chuckle at his antics.

"Me too." Jack said amid laughter, standing from Bridges bed.

"I could go for that." Sky said disinterestedly.

"Syd?" Z asked expectantly.

"I need to go speak with Kat about something, you guys go on ahead, I'll catch up later."

"Suit yourself." Z said with a shrug, before heading out the door to the light ball sanctuary, the boys following behind her.

**Khyla's POV**

Unpacking was tedious. Being the fashionista she liked to portray herself to be, she had brought two rather large suitcases full of designer clothing that would make a famous person jealous, and a whole suitcase only for her shoes. The only problem, was trying to find a place to put everything. Since the Cadets at the academy really only wore two things, their uniforms and their training clothes, to say that their closet space was limited would be an understatement. It almost didn't exist. By the time she was finished, the titanium alloy rod that held the hangers was bowing down slightly, her drawers were stuffed to maximum capacity to where she could barely open and close them, and she had to stack her shoes on top of one another to get them all to fit. Decorating, however, was another story.

The room, to be frank, was horribly boring. There was the door that slid open, which she could admit was pretty cool, but that was the main perk of the room. The window, if you would call it that, was situated directly across from the door. Her "bed" was in the corner of the room, which looked to be a tall rectangular block with a mattress situated within it and was the size of a double. Definitely not the King size gelatin bed she was used to at home. She cocked an eyebrow; this place was in need of some serious decorating, and she hardly had any supplies with which to do it. She had bought a few magazines in the space-port for the trip over here, but that was in no way shape or form enough to give life to the drab walls around her. She had pictures of her friends from both Phylia and earth, which consisted mainly of sons and daughters of other political figures that had been sent there, and offspring of her fathers friends. What she lacked were things to put them up with, and a few more magazines to cut apart wouldn't hurt too badly either.

Glancing around the room, he decided that with a little work, it could become livable. The window was a good shape that could easily be adorned by brightly colored curtains draped in a good way. The door was metal, so magnets could easily be placed on it, and there was enough clearance between the doors and the door frame that they wouldn't slide off every time the door opened. Some throw pillows would go well on her bed, and would do a great job of keeping Tammy, her stuffed hippopotamus company while she was off doing whatever it was. The lamps that they gave you were not only hideous, but the light that they provided was incorrigible. She had a mission to make this room hers, and she needed to do it fast to keep her from going insane with boredom. Deciding that S.P.D. headquarters probably wouldn't have a shop of any kind on the premises, she elected to take a little trip into town to find what she needed to give her room some personality.

Hoping Sydney wasn't busy, she walked to the room that had a pink stripe on one side of the door, and a yellow stripe on the other, and knocked softly. Hearing nothing, she decided to be daring, and open the door. She pushed the button and found the room to be empty. _Damn_, she thought to herself. Neither Syd nor Z were there, the only two that she could think of that could possibly enjoy the prospect of going shopping. Slightly saddened, and very disheartened, Khyla retreated back to her room. She sat on the crimson silk sheets her father had used as a bribe to get her to come back to earth with him. She wouldn't deny it, leaving the embassy had been hard, everything she knew was there. Sure, she had been to earth on vacations and such, and with her father when he was going to be gone for an extended period of time, but Phylia was home to her. She had grown up there, her life was there…well, it used to be. She sighed with boredom and discontent, not particularly wanting to be in her room, but not particularly wanting to break the rules on her first day.

"UGH! I have to get out of this room!" She exclaimed to herself. Setting Tammy down, and pushing herself up off her bed, she walked out the door hoping to find something to do, or someone to come with her on her mission to decorate her room. _God this sucks, _she thought to herself. _It was hard enough on Phylia having Caden follow me around 24/7, but at least he was always around, now it's like I have to search for my freaking guards! What in the Sam Hell is this galaxy coming to?_ She didn't have to look too hard. A few turns down some random hallways, since she still had no idea where she was going, and she heard people inside a room, playing some sort of game. Being brave, she decided to head inside and check it out. As the door opened, and the scene laid out in front of her, she was quite impressed. She didn't know that people on earth had even heard of lightball, and here were a few of the B-Squad cadets engaged in a very serious game, playing quite well.

She sat and watched them for a few minutes. They used all kinds of acrobatics, and gymnastics that she never would have thought to use during the game. Finally, Bridge noticed her presence in the room, held the game ball in his hand, and smiled at her.

"Hey Khyla." He said, waving at her goofily.

"Hey guys." She said, walking farther into the room, her thumbs jammed into her front pockets.

"What's up?" Z asked with a smile.

"Nothing really, just a little bored, and in need of something to do." She replied.

"You could play with us." Jack said hopefully.

"Eeeh, lightball's not really my thing. I was actually wondering if you guys knew where Syd was. I kinda wanted to know if she wanted to go on a shopping excursion with me to find decorations for my room."

"I think she went to talk to Kat and Commander Cruger about something but I'd be happy to go with you if you needed to leave the premises." Bridge offered excitedly.

"Bridge," Sky started. "You hate shopping." He said obviously.

"But Khyla said she needed to leave, and as her appointed guardians, it is our duty to make sure that she is not only protected, but happy while being protected." Sky looked at him strangely. "It's in the handbook." He said, casting his eyes downward.

"If you don't want to, it's okay, I just kinda need to give my room personality. The whole gray wall thing just isn't doing it for me, you know?"

"Actually no, but that's beside the point." Sky said, rather rudely. Khyla raised her eyebrows at him. Sure she had met her share of rude people in her lifetime, but none that attacked her personally without knowing her.

"Well, BRIDGE," Khyla said accentuating his name while keeping Sky under her stern gaze, "I would appreciate it very much if you would come with me. I only need to pick up a few things. But if shopping's not your thing, then I can just go grab Syd and ask her to come with."

"Sydney, is busy" Sky retorted, "As we told you previously."

"Well since it's obvious that you don't want to help me, Mr. Tate," she shot back cocking one of her eyebrows at him "Then this really doesn't concern you." He walked towards her, anger etched all over his face.

"As my charge, Miss Gabrey, it constantly concerns me what you are doing, when you are doing it, and who you are doing it with." He said.

"And as your Charge, then it is your responsibility to escort me in what I want to do, when I want to do it, and where I want to do it. And since you've been such an amazing helper, why don't you come along and go shopping with us." Khyla said dangerously.

"Because, you're not going shopping. We need to stay here and fulfill our duties as Power Rangers." Khyla narrowed her eyes dangerously at him, standing close to him, and looking up into his face. Even his towering height wouldn't make her back down.

"I'm not a Power Ranger Sky, I'm the fucking Ambassadors daughter. You were assigned to be my guardian. Now, I'm not sure If you know how that works, but it means that you follow me around, 24/7, whatever, wherever, whenever. You don't call the shots, I do. And if you have a problem with that, I would be more than happy to give my father a call, and have him talk to your commander to straighten things out." Skys eyes widened at the big threats that were coming out of this small girl. Getting in more trouble with Cruger was something that he couldn't afford, and he could find nothing in his brain that could respond to her comments. He remained silent, which to Khyla signaled both surrender, and defeat. "Excellent." She said backing off. "Now, I'll go get my bag, and we'll be off." She raised her eyebrow dangerously once more, sending a glare in Sky's direction before she walked off.

"Dude…" Jack said, his tone surprised. "Did you get told or what?"


	5. Saved by the Bell, well, Almost

**Authors Note: Thanks to Martieal, Crimson Mystery, and Garnetred for reviewing. You guys are awesome! I didn't really mean to make Khyla sound bratty at the end of the last chapter, I was just kind of trying to show the conflict between her and Sky, since he wasn't exactly being the sweetest peach in the batch either. Anyways, Thanks to all of you, and I hope you enjoy Chapter 5!**

**Disclaimer: Blabbity blabbity blah, I don't own power rangers, bloobity bloobity bloo, not making any profit, you get the idea…right?**

**Breaking Ground : Saved by the bell…almost.**

"Dude did you get told or what?" he heard Jack's voice say in a mocking tone. He could have slapped him upside the head with a candlestick holder, but decided to reserve his rage. He was greatly dreading many things at this point, and he could feel a migraine beginning to take hold over his head once more. He gave Jack the death glare that he usually reserved for those who had pissed him off past the point of immediate forgiveness, which shut him up immediately. Sky shook his head, and removed his light ball glove, and went to walk out of the room. But before he could take a step, the alarm began to sound, and Kat's call for all B-Squad cadets rang out over the loudspeaker. Sky thought he had never been happier, which was a little sadistic considering it meant that a monster was more than likely wreaking havoc on the city. He rushed out of the room, with Jack and Bridge close on his heels, and headed to the command post to receive orders and debriefing from Commander Cruger.

Khyla heard the blare of the alarms resonating through her brain, and she couldn't decide whether to be happy or even more disappointed then she already was. This meant, as was explained to her by Syd earlier, that all the B-Squad cadets had to go about their job of protecting the city; but it also meant that she was at a lack of bodyguards, and couldn't go on her shopping trip as she had planned. _Wait a minute…_ she said to herself. _As an only child, Khyla, it is your duty to make sure you get what you want. An emergency in New Tech city should not ruin your plans. Your father didn't raise you to let things stand in your way._ She construed her face as she thought up a plan. Soon, a devilish smile came across her features, and she began to dig through her purse for her mobile phone.

The monster was not too terribly difficult to defeat. As another one of Grumm's senseless goons who had brains the size of ants, its plan was relatively easy to foil, and they were currently transporting it back to Space Patrol Delta in a handy little card to be placed in file storage. They parked their Delta Runners in the zord bay, powered down, and made the journey back up to the Command post to brief Commander Cruger on their findings, and newly apprehended space monster.

Their briefing was exactly that, very brief. Cruger simply asked for the file container, a few questions, and sent the cadets on their way. Not that they were complaining; the monster wasn't exceptionally difficult to defeat, but he did throw some hard punches, and Sky knew he was going to have marks later that night. He walked out of the command post behind the other cadets, massaging the back of his neck with his left hand, trying to work out a knot that had twisted itself into a small ball of painful tension. He hung back behind the other cadets for a few moments, to move his head around and try to work it out, without walking into a wall and looking like an idiot. After trying for a few minutes, and seeing that it wasn't working, Sky continued on his journey back to his room.

As he walked down the hall, he saw that the door to Khyla's room was open, and there was a huge man outside, wearing black pants and a black tee shirt, accompanied by a black leather jacket and black sunglasses. The man poked his head in the door, and addressed her.

"Are you sure you don't need help with anything else Khyla?" he asked in a deep voice.

"No, it's okay Caden, thank you though. I'm fine. If you need to, you can get back to my father, I'm sure he's missing you." She said from inside her chambers.

"Alright then, I'll be off. You take care of yourself now."

"You too Caden, see you later!"

"Bye Khyla." The man turned from her door, and began to walk down the hall in Sky's direction. Sky saw him raise an eyebrow at him, and he began to slow as he approached him. "You must be Mr. Tate." The man called Caden said to him.

"Yes, sir…" Sky said, intimidation creeping into his voice. "That would be me." Caden nodded, and pulled off his sunglasses to look him in the eye.

"I don't know why you're giving Khyla a hard time, but you should give her a chance. She's a sweet girl, and believe me when I say that she doesn't want to be here any more that you want her to be. Make this easier on both of you, and work your issues out with her. I'm sure she'd be willing to forgive your trespasses. But, if I hear that you keep hassling her…" Caden stopped, and cracked his left knuckles menacingly in front of Sky. His eyes widened as he took in the message that Caden was trying to convey.

"Uh, yes, sir." Sky said, intimidation now dripping from his voice, and showing through in every aspect of his demeanor.

"Good, I'm glad we understand each other. Have a nice day Mr. Tate." Caden said, rather pleasantly, before placing his sunglasses back on his head, and walking off.

Sky's previous look of intimidation was gone, and replaced with a seething anger that was normally reserved for those who tried to hurt one of his team mates. Nostrils flared, and body rigid, he stormed into Khyla's room, not really caring about the consequences of his actions.

Khyla's goodie unpacking was abruptly interrupted by her doors opening and a livid Sky storming, literally, into her room. "Can I help you?" She asked mock-politely.

"You left the premises without one of us, or telling one of us." He said, trying to contain his rage.

"You're very observant." She said with mild sarcasm "I talked Cruger into letting my fathers bodyguard Caden escort me to San Francisco to shop for the stuff I needed to decorate my room. Plus, you looked like you were kinda busy. Guess that means you're off the hook, doesn't it?"

"And you talked to this **_Caden_** about me?" He asked, his rage letting loose. "Why would you do something like that?" He was everything but screaming at her.

"Because Sky," she said, yelling right back "You weren't exactly the Mr. Rogers of welcoming me. And you showed your disdain, and lack of respect for me and my presence from instant one. I didn't choose to come down here, I didn't ask to come down here, my father had to bribe, beg, and literally **_drag_** me on the ship to get me to leave Phylia. I didn't even pack my own stuff because I refused to leave. Now, I don't know exactly why you hate me so much, or why it is you feel the need to torment me, but I had to talk about it with someone because it upset me so badly." She was in his face, yelling at him exactly as he yelled at her. He had never seen so much come from someone so small. "And if all you came in here to do was to yell at me, then you can get the hell out because I am sick and tired of your attitude, not to mention the fact, that it isn't your place to yell at me. I have one father already Sky, one extremely over protective father at that, I don't need another one in the form of an arrogant SPD officer. I don't know who shoved the redwood, branches and all, up your ass, but you need to go to the doctor and get that thing removed, because it's not just affecting me honey, its affecting everyone around you." Once again, he was speechless. He couldn't find the right words to throw back in her face, which never happened with anyone. He ALWAYS had to have the last word, that's just the way he was, and here was this small girl, standing about 5'4, and was able to render him speechless.

He was so frustrated with his inability to reply to her, that he turned on his heel and stalked out of her room faster than he had come in. Groaning in frustration, Khyla slumped on her bed, exhausted from yelling at him. "This is going to be a very long few months." Khyla said quietly, to no one in particular.

Sky stalked straight into his room, his face still conveying his displeasure with himself. Bridge, sat on a chair, facing the door, playing idly with a green ball, apparently waiting for Sky to come in. He looked up at him, as a small, dejected half smile crossed his features. "She's right you know." He said. "And so is Caden. You shouldn't be yelling at her, nor do you really have the right. But I think you should try and make amends with her. It's not too late."

"And why would I want to do that Bridge?" Sky snapped.

"Because, you want to, deep down. And it will make things easier in the long run. You don't want to spend the next few months at war with someone other than Grumm do you? Because if anything is going to distract you from your duties Sky, that will be it." Bridge looked at Sky knowingly, as the he absorbed what Sky had said.

"And how exactly do I go about apologizing to her Bridge? I think that I'm the last person she wants to talk to right now, and she'll probably throw something heavy at me if I try to go into her room."

"Wait till after dinner, she'll have cooled down by then, and it will give you time to think about what you need to say. And believe me; you have a LOT to say to that girl." Sky furrowed his brow at his room mate.

"Like what?"

"Uh, maybe apologizing for all the rude things you've said to her, ordering her around, telling her what she can and can't do, refusing to uphold your duties as a body guard… You know, the usual." Sky sighed, and looked to the floor.

"I really do have a lot to think up don't I?" he asked, looking crestfallen.

"Fortunately, you have about 3 hours to do so. That's including during dinner." Sky sighed again, and excused himself to go to his favorite thinking spot. This was going to be tougher than he thought.

**Please please please review! I want to know what you think! Thanks for reading, new chapter should be up in the next few days, that is, if my homework load doesn't increase, if it does, you may have to wait until this weekend! Love you all!**

**kEs-2717**


	6. The Best Deceptions

**Authors Note: I'm sorry that I've kept you all waiting, my stress load has just been building and building over the past week, and I thought I was going to die. Hopefully this will give me some time for some happy expression to get a lot of it out! YAY FOR HEALTHY FORUMS OF EXPRESSION! Anyways, I hope you all enjoy chapter 6 of Breaking Ground**

**Disclaimer: Don't own it…never have, never will…period, end of story (metaphorically of course!)**

**Breaking Ground : **

The bay window welcomed him like it always did. The beautiful view of the ocean was all he needed to know that was where he belonged when it came time to think. He sat in his usual spot, bringing one knee to his chest, and resting his chin upon it. Why had he ordered Khyla around, and yelled at and harassed her? It confused him as much as it did everyone else, and then some. There was something about her that just irked him, pushed his buttons, yet, whenever he wasn't around her, he was wishing that he was. It was as though there was this anomalous side of him that looked forward to their arguments, but he was so desperate for them that he felt like he had to make them, even if they were for no reason at all. Which was completely unfair to Khyla, he knew, but it was almost entirely subconscious, and he didn't realize that he was doing, until after he had either already done it, or until it was entirely over, and there was nothing he could do to reconcile it.

What was even stranger was, he really did feel like he should apologize. He never apologized to anyone, for anything, it just wasn't in his nature. He shook his head, as he began to try and draw up what he was going to say to her when he saw her. How would he even get her to listen to him? Every time they had ever spoken, nothing but chaos came of it; how would he get her to even hear his apology, let alone accept it? He figured that going to her room after dinner was over was the best course of action, but he still had no idea what he was going to say to her. He sighed, and put his forehead against his knee, he had thought about things that were non-SPD oriented today more than he ever had in his entire life. He took a deep breath and tried to concentrate on his imminent task of coming up with a halfway decent apology. _This is going to take forever_ he thought to himself.

Khyla was sitting at her desk, busying herself with her decorating. She had already made a good dent in the stack of magazines she had bought at various newspaper shops along the way to her favorite stores. Ripping out whole pages of advertisements for things she liked, cutting out sayings that conveyed her kind of attitude, celebrities she admired, brands she used, basically anything that caught her eye went up on the wall. She had restored her supply of museum putty, which was basically sticky-tack that left no colored residue, and held things a lot better, and was planning on using all of it to give her boring room some personality before dinner time. She had bought a portable closet to put more of her clothes in so she wouldn't have to strive to see what was actually in it, and a hanging shoe rack so her collection could be more organized. She had also purchased some framed posters of things she loved which consisted mainly of 1940's pin up girls, and vintage _Vogue_ covers. She bought 2 dozen roses to hang and dry, a dozen deep crimson, and a dozen assorted with colors ranging from creamy pink, to pink with yellow infused into it.

She heard a knock at her door "Come in!" she said distractedly. Commander Cruger walked into her room, hands behind his back, never losing his professional look.

"I see you're getting settled in." He said, causing her to turn around in her new chair. She smiled.

"Yeah, I wanted to give my room some personality." Cruger nodded.

"Most do, the gray is just too boring for most."

"Myself included." She replied.

"I just came to let you know that dinner will begin in one hour in the dining room." He said cordially.

"Thank you." She replied sincerely, "I'll be there."

"The B-Squad Cadets will escort you there. I'll see you then Khyla."

"Bye Commander." He turned on his heel and walked out the door. Khyla sighed, and turned back to her collage making.

She hooked her laptop up to her camera and began to upload her pictures so she could print them out. She grabbed her miniature printer from her duffel bag and placed the photo paper inside it to begin printing out her photos. She smiled as she felt a rather large, and rather painful wave of nostalgia as she looked at the photos of everything that she loved from Phylia. Her friends, her father, her room… everything that she wanted to go back to so badly, yet she knew that it wouldn't happen for a while. She sighed, and listened to the printer churn out her photos as she busied herself with her cutting once more, the sound of the scissors easing her into a state of focus that came very rarely.

When Syd walked into the room that was supposed to be Khyla's, she gasped. It was as if an interior decorator had come in and completely revamped the entire room in the span of a few short hours. The walls were almost completely covered by pictures, magazine clippings, advertisements, celebrities, clothing brands, anything you could think of somehow found it's way onto Khyla's wall. Needless to say, she was impressed.

"Wow!" Syd exclaimed, pulling Khyla's attention from her laptop. "The next time you get a decorating fix, let me know, my room is in dire need of some adjustments!" A huge smile graced her features.

"The gray was too much for me…" Khyla admitted "I couldn't take it anymore, and you guys looked really busy, so I had my fathers body guard fly me to San Francisco to go shop for some stuff that I absolutely needed."

"The next time you absolutely need something, girl, you better give me a call so I can come with. This is amazing! How did you do it all so quickly?"

"Little bit of patience, lotta bit of focus, and tons of magazines. The scissors helped too, but they like to take more credit than they deserve." Khyla joked. Syd laughed wholeheartedly, and let her gaze rest on the girl in front of her.

"You ready for dinner?" She queried.

"Abso-freaking-lutely, I'm starving!" Khyla exclaimed, slipping her crimson flip flops on, she followed Syd out the door, and into the hall where the rest of the rangers were waiting.

"Took you long enough." Z joked. Syd feigned offense, and gave her the blonde attitude that she was famous for.

"I was checking out Khyla's decorating job. You should see it Z, its amazing!" Z was about to reply, when Jack cut off their conversation.

"As much as I would love to sit here and listen to you two talk about room decorating, I think I can speak for the guys when I say that we're hungry, and we want to go to dinner. So can we please save the chit chat for later, or at least multi-task and walk at the same time?" Z rolled her eyes, and moved to walk down the hall. "Thank you." Jack said to her retreating form, and followed suit, the rest of the rangers and Khyla trailing behind.

To be quite honest, Khyla didn't really know what to expect from the food at the SPD headquarters. She was praying that it wasn't like dormitory food, or something of an absolutely disgusting nature. Much to her surprise, and content, the food was quite good, and they had a great range of selection, from a grill, to a sandwich bar, to an "interplanetary/intergalactic" food station, to an amazing salad bar. Khyla, feeling a little jet lagged, and not quite used to the 24 hour days, decided to go for something light and eat a salad, which was actually quite delicious. The alien who made it knew how to whip up an amazing Caesar salad in no time. She sat at the B-Squad table, since she didn't know anyone else, and munched happily as she and Syd chatted about their lives.

When they were finally finished, they all got up, and walked back to their quarters together, Khyla once again being reminded not to do anything, or go anywhere without informing one of them beforehand. Khyla, not really liking this, but accepting it, agreed, and retired to her private chambers to finish off her decorating.

Sky paced in his room, coming up with the final touches of what exactly he was going to say to her. He had spent every last minute that he could at the window thinking up the perfect thing to say. He heard his roommate chuckle slightly, which drew Sky's attention. "What?" He asked.

"You are too funny." Bridge replied amidst his laughter. "Have you figured out what to say yet?" He asked from his position on his bed, placing a handful of popcorn into his mouth. Sky scratched the back of his neck.

"Umm…well, sort…of…" He stuttered, which emitted another bout of laughter from Bridge.

"You have absolutely no idea do you?" Sky sighed in defeat, and slumped his normally perfect posture.

"No." he said, his tone emanating disgrace. "I know what I need to apologize for, I just don't know how to word it….well."

"Don't worry about how you word it." Bridge coached. "As long as the words 'I'm sorry' and 'I want to resolve this' are in there somewhere, just tell her what you're sorry for and you should be fine." Sky sighed.

"I should probably go while it's still fresh in my mind, huh?"

"That would be a wise decision." Bridge said with finality. "Now go, little grasshopper. Take what you have learned and use it for the power of good, and do not let the evil prevail!" Sky cocked an eyebrow and gave him the look. Bridge made a shooing motion towards him.

"I'm going, I'm going!" Sky said exasperatedly, and walked out the door, passing Jack on the way. Giving him a nod, he pursued on his task. Jack brisked past him, and went to sit on Bridges bed next to him.

"What's going on?" Jack asked.

"Sky's going to try to apologize to Khyla for all the crappy things he's done to her." Bridge said simply. Jack raised his eyebrows, and grabbed a handful of popcorn.

"This should be good."

"Very good." Bridge agreed.

He stood outside Khyla's door, trying to get the courage to knock, and get this over with. He finally did so, and heard a muffled "Come in!" from behind the metal doors. He pushed the button that caused them to slide open, and stepped inside. She looked to the door, the look of mild content on her face changed to that of mild disdain.

"Yes?" She asked, wanting to keep this as brief as possible.

"Um, Khyla… can we talk?" He asked trying as hard as he could to be nice. She cocked a suspicious eyebrow at him, and moved from her place on the desk to sit on her bed, grabbing her desk chair and dragging it behind her so he could sit. She sat down on her bed, and grabbed one of her pillows to hold, and motioned to the chair; he sat down across from her, and avoided her eyes.

"So…Talk." She almost commanded. He closed his eyes, and reminded himself that he wasn't here to fight, he was here to make amends.

"Khyla….I…ummm…I, well, I guess what I'm trying to say is…umm…"

"Spit it out Sky." She commanded forcefully. Her response to his stuttering caught him off guard, and he did what he never thought he could do.

"I'm sorry okay!" he blurted out. "I don't know why I said all those mean things to you, and I don't know why I harass you the way that I do, but it just happens. There's something about you that just pushes my buttons, something that just gets to me, in a way no one else can…"

"Oh, so now it's my fault?" She demanded.

"No! No, that's not what I meant. I…"

"Then what did you mean Sky, because you better say it quick, I'm getting impatient."

"I don't mean to be so rude to you, I honestly don't. Maybe it's the whole assignment that just didn't sit well with me, I don't know. But I am sorry, and I don't want you to think that I hate you, or don't want you here. Because I don't, hate you that is, I like having you here, but I just, I don't even know what I'm trying to say anymore." He looked at Khyla who had a bemused look on her face. And then she began to laugh.

It was a beautiful sound that resonated off of every wall, and every thing in the room, creating music to his ears. He could listen to it forever, get lost in it like a symphonic piece that was beautifully composed. He felt intoxicated, and entranced by it, and didn't want it to ever end.

"Why are you laughing?" He asked innocently, hoping she wasn't laughing as his lame excuse for an apology. She didn't answer him immediately, but rather kept on laughing, which he oddly didn't mind.

"You are so cute when you ramble." She said between gasps of laughter. She fell back on her bed and allowed the laughter to consume her once more. Sky stood up, and crossed his arms over his chest at the sound of being called cute.

"Cute?" He asked, "Is that all you can say after my first ever real apology?" He asked in disbelief. She sat up again, still giggling, obviously trying to suppress her laughter.

"I'm sorry." She took a deep breath and composed herself. "Sky," she said with mock seriousness, that brought another smile to her features, "I accept your apology, no matter how long, and drawn out it may have been. And I concur with all of the things you said, and I apologize for instigating them as well." Sky cocked an eyebrow at her, feeling that it was his turn to poke fun at her.

"Did you just use the word 'concur'?" He asked. She gave him a look of mild scolding.

"Oh shut it Mister 'Ramble-on-for-twenty-minutes-and-put-apologee-to-sleep-before-I-finally-get-finished!'" Sky laughed with her this time, the period lasting for a few moments, before it simmered to giggles, then died altogether. She pushed herself up from her bed, and stood in front of him. "Let's start over." She said, sticking out her hand in front of her. "Hi, I'm Khyla Gabrey, it's nice to meet you." He laughed and turned is head to the left.

"Hello Khyla, My name is Schuyler Tate, Sky for short. It's nice to meet you as well." He grasped her hand in return, and felt the electric shock run up his arm. He was momentarily put off by it, but recovered quickly as he shook her hand. It felt so right there, her small hand encased in his, as if it belonged there. He shook his head slightly to rid himself of these thoughts that had come out of nowhere, and focused on her.

Khyla had felt it too, that small shock, like a bolt of electricity running through her veins. She liked the feeling of his hand over hers, it was comforting, and made her feel like he wouldn't let anything happen to her. She quickly placed the thoughts at the back of her mind for later contemplation, and slowly repealed her hand, a small smile gracing her delicate features.

He sat on his throne, still seethingly unhappy about their loss today. If Broodwing kept failing to deliver on his promises of monster friends to destroy the rangers, there was going to be consequences, some very heavy consequences. His thoughts were interrupted by Mora skipping into his room, humming contently. He turned his head to her swiftly, and his red eyes began to glow.

"Mora." He growled. "How many times must I tell you to never enter my private chambers?" The evil child rolled her eyes, and swung her hideous monstrosity of a doll idly at her side.

"I wouldn't have come if it hadn't been important Grumm" She said, emphasizing his name.

"Well, what is it?" he said impatiently.

"I thought you might like to know that there is a new large energy signature in New Tech City, and it's in the SPD Mobile Command Center as we speak." She said with a self-satisfying grin.

"Really? And why would this energy signature concern me?" He asked maliciously. Mora rolled her eyes again, losing patience with her evil master.

"Because, Grumm, if we find this energy signature, its resources are almost untapped, and unlimited, and do you know what we could do with that?"

"Wipe out the rangers for good…" Grumm caught on. "Broodwing!" he called for his useless bat-like alien henchman.

"You called master?" The raspy voice whispered from the shadows.

"Find the energy signature of which Mora speaks, track it, and bring it to me. I want this energy to take down Cruger and his silly Space Patrol Delta crap for good." Broodwing nodded, and bowed to his master upon receiving his new assignment.

"Yes master." He bowed out of his masters chambers, Mora skipping along behind him.

"Now, Rangers…" Grumm said cryptically. "Prepare to meet your doom. The beginning of the end is near."

**Don't forget to review! MWAH! LuVz**

**kEs-2717**


	7. Power Revival

**Authors Note: Y'all need to start reviewing damnit! Just kidding, but it would really make me happier if I was getting more feedback, you know, some constructive criticism here and there…I know it wouldn't kill you guys. LoL, anyways, on with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I'm not making a profit…whatever, you guys know the shpiel (I think that's how you spell it!)**

**Breaking Ground : Power Revival**

The next four weeks passed in the blink of an eye. The rangers went to training almost every day, minus the weekends, kicked the crap out of Grumm's silly monsters once and a while, and spent the rest of the time hanging out, and getting to know Khyla better. Although she befriended all of them, and formed close bonds with them, none were closer with her than Sydney, and surprisingly enough, Sky. Once their conflict of interests was settled, and their occasional altercation over conflicting viewpoints, the two of them had formed a very strong bond that neither could really explain. And although Sky had known Bridge and Syd for the longest and Khyla the shortest, it was Khyla whom he felt he could open up to, and tell her things that were bothering him.

Strangely enough, it was this fact that was slightly ebbing away at him. Why did he feel so connected to this girl after having known her for such a short period of time? He figured that maybe it was because she wasn't a part of the ranger team, and therefore had a more empathetic view on his perspective of things. Also, he felt that if he told a member of the team his misgivings that it may create dissention, and weaken them; with Khyla, he could say anything and know that it would remain between the two of them. Of all the people in the world to trust, he trusted the girl whom he couldn't stand less than a month ago.

Which is not to say that Khyla didn't trust him, she had her doubts occasionally, which were usually only during their unintentional verbal sparring matches, but for the most part she trusted him enough to make sure nothing would happen to her. Her life was a very valuable thing, and to be able to put that in the hands of someone else was a huge thing, especially for her. She couldn't really understand why she had adhered so well with him, especially since he stood for many things that she was wholly against. Her father had always said that opposites attract, perhaps this was a perfect example of that fact.

They walked down the hall, side by side, after Khyla had watched them in their simulated training. She had to admit, there was something about a guy who could kick the crap out of a virtually simulated alien that was so…attractive. There was no other word to put on it. And although Jack and Bridge were amazing fighters, Sky was so fluid, and graceful and perfect; it was like every move on his part was choreographed, and he knew exactly what his opponent was going to do next.

Jack and Bridge had elected to go eat something, while Syd and Z rushed back to their room so they could shower and change. Khyla, not really needing to take part in a second hygienic cleansing that day, decided to stay with Sky and slowly meander back to their quarters. She glanced at him as they walked, and studied his face. He looked very worn out, which was something to be expected from a long day of training, but there was something else behind it. It looked sad, desperate, and stressed out, what she wouldn't give to have Bridge's psychic ability sometimes, just so she could see what was going on inside of his head.

"Are you okay Sky?" She asked softly. He quickly turned his head towards her, and gave her a look of slight confusion.

"Yeah, I'm fine, why do you ask?" He replied.

"You just look worn down, not just physically, which I would understand after your training session today, but mentally. Are you sure there isn't anything bothering you? Because if there is, you know you can talk to me about it, right?" She asked gently. He gave her a slight smile and her generosity.

"I'm sure Khyla, nothings bothering me. And you know that I would talk to you if something was." He lied straight to her face, and felt horrible for it. There wasn't something bothering him, per se, but there was something at the back of his mind that kept distracting him. It started the moment he had met Khyla, and had only advanced after they had reconciled their differences. It became stronger every time he was with her, and eventually turned into a feeling he got in the pit of his stomach every time he saw her. The truth was, he was falling for her, hard, but he didn't know how to tell her how he felt, and was scared that she wouldn't feel the same way. He was pulled out of his reverie, by Khyla placing a hand up to her head, obviously in pain.

"Khyla are you alright?" He asked worriedly. She jerked her head from left to right in quick, spontaneous movements as if she was trying to startle the pain out of her head. They had stopped in the middle of the hall, and he moved to face her. "Khyla?" he asked her again after not receiving a response from her. "Khyla, are you alright?"

"Ugh…" she exhaled, her discomfort obvious. Then, out of nowhere, a part of the wall caught on fire, and Khyla fainted, and fell into his arms. He was momentarily stunned, and unaware of which to handle first, Khyla or the fire, when the fire dissipated completely, leaving only a blackish gray scorch mark in its wake. His eyes widened in confusion, fear, and worry for his friend. He scooped her up into his arms, and carried her to the infirmary.

He kicked open the door, startling a few of the lower ranked medical cadets. "Where's Kat?" He demanded. The cadets, unaware of what was going on, and what exactly to do gave him blank looks of confusion. One finally spoke up.

"I'll go get her, sir." And he dashed off to go find her. Moments later, she strode into the room, the nervous cadet, and Boom in tow. She had a look of worry weaved into her normally stern features.

"What happened?" She asked, reaching for her body scanner. She motioned towards a hospital bed for him to set her down on. He followed her, and gently placed her on the sterilized white sheets, being careful to set her head on the pillow.

"I'm not really sure. We were walking down the hall after she watched our virtual simulation, and then all of a sudden she grabbed her head as if she had just gotten a headache or something. Then she fainted." Kat nodded as she listened, warming up the scanner to run tests on Khyla's unconscious form.

"Did anything else happen?" She asked, adjusting the settings on the scanner.

"It was weird, just before she passed out this spot on the wall just caught fire." Kat looked at him seriously.

"Just caught fire?" She repeated "Like, spontaneously combusted caught fire?" She asked.

"Yeah, but right after she passed out, it dissipated, and just left a scorch mark. I don't know if that has anything to do with her, but if not, it sure was convenient timing." He looked at her, while she placed the scanner at different locations on her body. When she scanned her chest region, Kat's eyes widened, then her brow furrowed.

"You are dismissed Cadet Tate." She said, pulling the scanner away to run the tests through the computer. "Go back to your dormitory and get some rest." He was taken aback by her brash command, but decided against disobeying.

"If you need any help, please let me know." He said.

"Thank you Cadet, but that won't be necessary. I have medical attendants that will assist me if I need it." He nodded.

"Will you let me know if anything happens, and when she wakes up?" He asked, a desperate tone making its way into his voice. Kat looked up at him from the scanner, a look of understanding coming across her face.

"Yes, Cadet. You'll be among the first to know if anything happens." He nodded, and turned to walk slowly out of the infirmary, his worry for Khyla growing with every step. Kat watched him leave, her eyes fixed upon him to make sure he actually did. When she was sure he was out of earshot, she looked to one of the medical attendants. "Go get Commander Cruger, quickly." She said the sternness in her voice returning. The Cadet nodded, and rushed out to complete his task. Kat sighed, and looked at the results on the computer screen, amazed at what she saw.

Sky walked back to his room, the worry etched all over his face. He looked at the spot on the wall where the scorch mark still lay, the only evidence of what had transpired in the hallway. He looked away, trying to take his mind off of worrying, and walked into his room. He found Bridge in his usual position, standing on his head with his elbows on his pillow, and his body braced against the wall. When Bridge didn't receive the all too familiar eye roll, or smirk, he knew something was up.

"What's up Sky?" Bridge asked, pulling himself off the wall to look at his roommate. "Is everything alright?"

"I'm really not sure." Sky replied. Bridge got a confused look on his face.

"What's wrong?"

"Khyla's in the infirmary." Sky replied. "And I'm not really sure why. One minute she was fine, and we were just walking down the hall after training and the next, she was grabbing her head in pain, and then she passed out. And to make things even weirder, this spot on the wall just randomly caught fire, but as soon as she passed out, it was gone."

"So that's where that scorch mark came from!" Bridge said as if he had made some detective-like discovery. "I was hoping RIC hadn't gone whacko and blasted the wall or something." He paused, waiting for Sky to say something "Is she okay?" He asked timidly.

"I'm not sure. Kat told me that she would let me know if anything happened, and if it was critical I'm sure she'd let me know, but I can't help but worry about her." Bridge was worried too, not only about Khyla, but about Sky as well. He concentrated his telepathic ability to try and read his emotions_ …Worry…Pain…Love…Fear…Anxiety…_

Sky was a blur of emotions, and Bridge worried that they might take control of him.

They sat in silence for a while, Sky worrying about Khyla, and thinking over his current situation with her, and Bridge worrying about both of them, and whether or not Sky was going to have a mental breakdown. The intercom that came directly into their room distracted them from their thoughts.

"B-Squad cadets, please report to the command deck, B-Squad cadets, please report to the command deck." It wasn't accompanied with alarms, which was comforting, but nevertheless, worrisome that something was awry. Sky and Bridge both stood up and made their way to the Command Deck, Jack, Syd, and Z following behind.

They arrived to see Commander Cruger stationed at his normal position around the circular briefing area with Kat standing behind, and slightly to the left, Boom directly next to her. Kat was holding her clipboard, going over things that needed to be told to the rangers as they filed in and took their posts. The commander waited until they were all situated before addressing them.

"Good afternoon Cadets." They were taken aback by his greeting, not that pleasantries were unexpected from Cruger, but normally when they were sent to the command deck it was because of alien issues, or problems in the city. "I can only assume that you are all wondering why I brought you here when there is no invasion of the city and no impending dangers at the present time." The cadets nodded in answer to his question. "Miss Manx?" He requested, stepping away from his usual position to allow Kat to step forward. She nodded in salute to the commander and stepped to where he had stood moments ago.

"Cadet Tate, you will recall the incident earlier with Miss Gabrey?" Sky's eyes widened at the question, and nodded. "Would you care to enlighten everyone as to exactly what happened?"

"Khyla and I were walking down the hall after training, and all of a sudden she grabbed her head in pain, and then moments later she fainted."

"And the wall?"

"The wall spontaneously combusted right after she started to act strangely, and then as soon as she fainted, it disappeared." Kat nodded.

"Thank You, Cadet Tate. As it turns out, as you had previously hypothesized, the spontaneous combustion did have something to do with Miss Gabrey. The reason she was acting so strangely is because her powers reactivated themselves after years of lying dormant." The cadets looked stunned, and shocked. Syd's mouth was hanging open, Z had her eyebrow cocked, Bridges eyes were wide open, and Jack's face conveyed pure confusion. Sky looked pensive; as if he was connecting the dots in some strange pattern.

"Powers?" Bridge finally asked.

"Yes Cadet Carson," Kat replied simply. "Powers. Miss Gabrey was born with special capabilities just like all of you have. In fact, they are rather similar to Cadet Drew's powers, only on a much, much larger scale." The Cadets remained silent, and waited for further explanation. "Miss Gabrey, as was told to us by her father, was born with the abilities of the elements. But, rather than having to touch them to use their power, she is able to manipulate the elements that are around her."

"Elements…as in what elements?" Z questioned.

"The four core, fundamental elements of life." Kat touched a key on the holographic control mechanism and brought up five images. "Miss Gabrey is able to control, manipulate, and even in certain cases induce all of the four elements, including air, earth, fire, and water. We are unsure at this point as to how powerful she really is, and to what limits they have, but according to her father, there don't seem to be many limits on her power. When her family found out that she possessed these powers, they sent her to the Phylian equivalent of a Ninja master to help her learn to control them. There, she also learned the arts of self defense, and our equivalent to almost every form of martial arts." She briefly showed them an image of each of the elements, and the Phylian master that Khyla trained with.

"So then why did they need us to protect her?" Jack asked.

"I haven't come to that quite yet Cadet Landors. After Khyla's mother was killed by a band of intergalactic government opposers, Khyla was so traumatized that her powers rebelled against her, and eventually, as the Ambassador thought, were wiped from her system. We know now, that they simply went dormant until the appropriate time to reactivate themselves. The reason that Khyla has always been so heavily protected is not only because her father is afraid that he will lose her as he did his wife, but because he was receiving threats from different renegade agents who knew about her power that they would kidnap her, and try to reactivate her powers, and use them against whatever cause they wanted. After the information of her powers spread, leaders of hostile empires began to take an interest in Miss Gabrey. Finally, the ambassador became worried that the most infamous of all would find out…"

"Grumm of the Troobians." Sky finished for her.

"That's correct. We are still unsure as to why they reactivated, but we will continue running tests to try and find out." Kat said with finality.

"Is she awake?" Sky asked hopefully. Kat smiled softly, knowing the blue rangers worry for his friend.

"Yes Cadet, she awoke a few moments before we called you to the Command Deck. You are free to go and see her, and escort her back to her dormitory if you wish." Sky did a weak salute to the Commander and Kat before striding out the door, and running down the halls to the infirmary. He pushed open the doors and glanced at the bed where he had set Khyla. She was sitting up, and popping her knuckles idly, obviously waiting for one of the cadets to escort her back. She looked up and saw Sky, a knowing smile crossing her features. He walked over to her bed, and looked at her.

"Are you ready to go?" He asked. She nodded in response, and stood up, already having put her shoes on, and walked to stand next to Sky. "Let's go." They walked quietly out of the infirmary doors, neither saying a word. The silence got to be too much for Khyla, and she began to speak.

"I guess I have a lot of explaining to do, huh?" She asked, causing Sky to glance at her out of the corner of his eye.

"I'd say so." He said simply. Khyla laughed, and looked at the ground.

"Let's take the long way back, this may take a while." She said. Sky nodded, and turned left down the hallway that would lead them to the elevators that they could use to take to the top floor so they could wind their way down. This was going to be one hell of an explanation.

**Don't forget to review childrens! I love you all! **

**I basically have the next chapter outlined, and almost written out, so it should be coming fairly soon!**

**kEs-2717**


	8. Explanations, Confusion, Angst

**Authors Note: I'm so very sorry it has taken me so long to update! My life has been crazy over the past few weeks. I had the chapter outlined and basically written, but I just couldn't find the time to finish it! So, without further adieu, here it is!**

**Disclaimer: Blah…. You know the drill…**

**Breaking Ground : Explanations, Confusion, Angst**

"I guess I have a lot of explaining to do, huh?" She asked, causing Sky to glance at her out of the corner of his eye.

"I'd say so." He said simply. Khyla laughed, and looked at the ground.

"Let's take the long way back, this may take a while." She said. Sky nodded, and turned left down the hallway that would lead them to the elevators that they could use to take to the top floor so they could wind their way down. This was going to be one hell of an explanation.

On their way up to the top floor, they were silent. Khyla walked with her hands at her sides, and Sky with his clasped behind his back. He didn't want to push her to say anything, he knew that the words in her head were probably just as jumbled as his had been when he was trying to apologize to her. He gave her the time that she needed to organize her thoughts and what she was going to say. A long period of silence had passed between them since they made their way out of the infirmary doors. They were almost to the top floor, and he was wondering if he would ever get the explanation she had promised him. The doors opened, and she stepped out, waiting for him to do the same. She looked into his eyes, and spoke.

"First of all, let me say that I'm sorry for not being completely honest with you. However, I didn't exactly think that my powers, or lack thereof when I came here, were exactly pertinent to my stay. I know that my father will say otherwise, as will Commander Cruger and Miss Manx, but I didn't feel that they were. Now, let me start from the beginning…" She turned to walk down the hall, he staying close to her side, listening with rapt attention to the words that were almost tumbling out of her mouth.

"My father was just a small town politician, who came from an extremely wealthy family. He was the mayor for his town before he moved up to become a Senator. After the Senate bored him, he made a generous contribution, mainly of my grandparent's money, to the twice former President's campaign which landed him a position as an ambassador. He started off for his first years as an ambassador to a foreign country, but the President saw his Political wrap sheet, and decided that he wanted him on the front lines as an ambassador to another planet instead of just on earth. So, my father packed his bags, and headed for Phylia. While he was working there, being an ambassador, he came across a wealthy Phylian family. I'm not sure if you know much about Phylia, but the inhabitants there are VERY closely related to humans. Their DNA, their bone structure, everything is almost exactly that of a human, with small, yet very noticeable differences. This wealthy Phylian family, as my father later found out, were the rulers of Phylia."

"Like a Monarchy?" Sky asked.

"Kind of, if you want an earthly comparison it's more like a constitutional Monarchy. They have the royal family, but they only deal with a portion of the political aspect. Anyway, my mother, being the middle child of the family, met, and fell in love with my father. Her parents, thinking it would be good for their political image, allowed them to marry, hence, me. My mom had the same powers, and so I guess she passed them on to me."

"So you're half Phylian?" Sky queried.

"A quarter. My mom was only half Phylian because her mother was human." Sky nodded. "My parents decided to send me to Kaloquia Manasataka, the Phylian version of a Ninja or Samurai master, and put me in training with him to get my powers in check. I learned all forms of what earth people call martial arts, although with differences of course. But, the happy family that I had didn't last very long. When I was about 13 years old, a band of renegade political opposers to the whole integration of different planets and their races…killed my mother. After she died, I… lost touch with a lot of things. My power, my dad, my friends…It was like I turned everything inward, and blamed myself for what happened, even though I knew it wasn't my fault. My father thought that I had lost my powers completely, that my….Fragile…emotional state got rid of them; Kaloquia thought differently. He said that it was my emotions that threw them out of whack, but didn't eradicate them, only hibernated them until I was able to let go of what happened and accept it. After other empires found out about my Power, my father received hundreds, maybe even thousands of threats against me, the Phylian royals, and himself. They all threatened to use my power against the 'evils' that they had done by allowing the integration. My father tried to pass them off as nothing, but when one of the guards to our house was killed he had enough, and called in a favor from Commander Cruger and had me sent down here to be watched by you. I guess by being here, you've helped me get over what it was I needed to, and reactivated my powers." Sky nodded, taking everything she said in.

"And do you regret having them reactivated?" He questioned.

"In a way, yes, because now if they do get a hold of me they will have something to use, but also no, because now I can kick ass with the rest of them again. I love that feeling." Sky smiled. He sensed the tension, and he understood why it existed. She had just spilled her entire life story to someone she didn't know that well, and was obviously apprehensive about how he would react. Wanting to change the subject to make her feel better, he looked at her again, and spoke.

"So…I've heard numerous things about these powers of yours, but you've never actually told, nor shown me what you can do." Khyla smiled mischievously.

"Well, Miss Manx told you that I can induce and manipulate the elements, am I correct?" He nodded. "I can only induce the elements that can be induced by man, i.e. fire and dirt. I can't create water or air because it would harm the ecosystems of the planets. I can, however, manipulate them all."

"I do believe a demonstration is in order, Miss Gabrey." Sky said, putting on his best Commander voice. She gave him a look that conveyed her playful annoyance.

"Fine." She grabbed a bottle of water that was sitting on a nearby table and opened it. Setting it back on the table, she concentrated hard on the water inside, willing it to move in the path she desired.

Sky watched in awe as the small blob of water moved aqueously through the air. It moved like water in a bathtub, only it was floating in mid-air. Khyla guided it with her relaxed left hand, never taking her eyes off of it. "Open your mouth." She said softly. He looked at her with his eyebrow cocked.

"Are you serious?"

"Open your mouth." She said more firmly. Sky rolled his eyes playfully, and opened his mouth. Khyla gently guided the water in, then nodded at him to close it so she could let her control go. He swallowed it, and placed a smirk on his face.

Khyla looked him in the eyes as she let her control of the water go. He had the most perfect features. Chiseled and firm, but if you looked closely, held a certain softness and beauty all their own. She couldn't quite put a finger on it, but it captivated her. She giggled slightly when she realized that he had a small drop of water on the left side of his mouth.

"What?" He asked, hearing her. She laughed again, and approached him, closing the gap between them. Their faces were less than a foot apart when she reached her hand up to his face. She took her thumb and gently wiped away the small spot of water. She held it in front of his eyes to show him.

"You had water on your face." She said softly. She placed her hand on his chest to wipe the excess moisture away. But instead of bringing her hand back down to her side, she laid it on his chest, letting it rest there. She had her eyes pinned to it, the natural curve of her hand fitting perfectly there, as if it was made to rest in that exact spot. She had a flood of emotions running through her that she never recalled feeling for him before, and it was confusing. It was like her small gesture had opened the flood gates to something she hadn't at all expected.

He was entranced by her. As she closed the gap between them, he watched her hand float up to his face. His mind began to race, was everything his mind was telling him coming to be? He felt her thumb graze gently over the left side of his chin, wiping away some excess moisture. He felt her push her thumb into his chest to wipe away the excess, then rest her hand in the same spot. He never wanted her to move her hand from that spot again. He could feel her body heat radiating from her hand, and penetrating his shirt. He looked down at her, to see that she was staring at her hand as though it held all the secrets in the world. His mind was flooding him with emotions that he had never felt before. Amazement, ardor, adoration, devotion, endearment…love. He was so absorbed in his thoughts, he didn't feel Khyla's eyes boring into his.

She removed her gaze from her hand to look Sky in the eyes. _What does this mean?_ She asked herself. Why was her head a swirling vortex of emotions? Sky's demeanor never gave him away, but if you looked into his eyes, there were times that you could know what he was thinking. In them, she saw something that made her heart do back flips, and scared her at the same time…love. Then she felt it, that pang just above her stomach she had felt when she first shook his hand. It started out as slightly painful, but moved to be a warm sensation. She felt it travel upwards, and spread throughout her body. She glanced away for a moment, to try and gather her thoughts. Then she realized that she was falling for the man in front of her, the man whom at the beginning she could barely stand. She looked him in the eyes again, seeing that he was back from his expedition through another mental dimension.

Neither had to say anything to convey their intentions. Khyla felt a gentle touch at the small of her back, followed by a pair of strong arms encompassing her in the gentlest manner she had ever felt. She slid her hand from its resting position on his chest to wind its way around the back of his neck, the other following in its path on the other side of his body. Her gentle touch left the skin in its wake with a gentle tingle, even through the thickness of his SPD uniform. It seemed as though all reason had left him, and he was operating entirely on instinct. He leaned his head down, as he felt her rise to meet him. Their lips met, gently at first, testing the waters to see what unknown perils lay beneath the murky depths. When neither felt any feelings of foreboding, it deepened, the hidden passion within each of them igniting with every touch, flick, and movement. Eventually, their bodies had come together so much that no air was left between.

She ran her fingers through the back of his short cropped hair, massaging his scalp, throwing his skin into the tingling feeling that he was beginning to crave. His hands were pressing gently against her mid, and lower back, holding her to him in a loving way. Her lips tasted like coconut, and strawberries, the after-effects of her chap-stick, and he never wanted to stop tasting it. It summed her up entirely, sweet with a hint of sour, and completely smooth. He loved the feeling of having her small frame wrapped up in his embrace, he felt like it gave him another purpose, and another reason to exist. Like he had something to look forward to when he woke up aside from his daily training and his kicking intergalactic ass. It felt so right to have her there, in his arms, her body pressed against his. It was like it fit, as if it had been created specifically to be placed there.

They pulled away, placing a few chaste kisses on each others lips, trying to savor the sweet contact. Khyla gazed into his eyes, her mind totally at peace. She felt like everything was right in the universe, and that nothing could ever possibly could be wrong again. She savored the euphoria of his touch as long as she could, and committed the feeling to memory. Neither moved, willing the moment to last just that much longer. Finally, after eons of amorous gazing, Sky cleared his throat.

"We should probably get back to our chambers." He said softly. "Dinner will be starting soon, and we don't want everyone wondering where we are." Khyla laughed, and rested her forehead against his as her gorgeous smile flooded her features.

"All right blue boy," she said, using her nickname for him "but you owe me later." Sky smiled a genuine smile, which previously had been few and far between before Khyla had come to headquarters. She pressed her lips against his one last time as he held her close, tightening his grip on her body. She pulled away, and he slowly let her go. "Come on you," she said, the spunk in her tone returned as she intertwined her fingers with his, "let's get some food." He rolled his eyes and gave a half smile as he followed her down the hall, 75 ecstatic about his newfound feelings, and 25 worried that he had absolutely no idea what he was getting himself into.

He sat at his throne, holding his scepter and drumming his fingers irritatedly. Once again, Broodwing's thug had proved useless against Cruger's rangers, and he was getting sick of it. He rarely tolerated failure, let alone recurring failure. He was in his right mind to destroy Broodwing once and for all. His eyes began to glow red as he thought of his momentary fix to his current mood. He heard small footsteps entering his chambers, and he knew Mora had come to pay him a visit. Currently, he wasn't too happy with her either. While the mind he had given her was amazingly powerful, and had the capabilities of coming up with some of the most notorious monsters known to this galaxy, even her capabilities seemed to be failing him. Every monster she created was defeated mercilessly by the SPD rangers, and brought into their file storage for questioning. Who knows how many secrets had been leaked out through their impudence. He looked to the small child standing before him, holding her hideous abomination of a doll, looking as though she held all the secrets in the world.

"Hello Grumm." She said, as pleasantly as a heinously evil child could. But Grumm was not in the mood for her games, if she had information, he wanted it. No beating around the bush this time, it would come out quickly and efficiently, and he hoped for her sake that it was a good idea.

"What do you want Mora?" He said, his tone conveying his annoyance with her presence. She looked abashed, and cocked a surprised eyebrow at him.

"Someone got out of the wrong side of the energy chamber this morning." Grumm gave a low growl.

"If you do not have information that is pertinent to my taking over the galaxy, Mora, then I suggest you get out of my chambers immediately or I will destroy you. Spit it out, or stop wasting my time."

"Time doing what? Sitting on your throne like an angry, defeated Emperor? Psshh, that's time well used." She said sarcastically. He turned on her, his eyes glowing a violent red-orange.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?" He shouted, eliciting a small scream from the young girl. His face was inches from hers, his eyes still burning with agitation.

"I came to tell you," she said, pushing his face away from hers "that we tracked the energy signature and its origins. And it seems that we have a small coincidence."

"And what would that be?" He said, already agitated by the slowness of her explanation, but desperate to hear more.

"Do you remember the Planet with the rebels that you're supplying munitions to?"

"Yes…Phylia. I wanted to cause trouble in the paradise that is their perfect little planet. The royals there need to be taught not to deny my requests. I would have taken them out myself if I hadn't been so caught up in this SPD ranger business."

"Then you remember the Princess whom your rebels killed…"

"Yes, Mora, Princess Kahleah, get to the point!"

"You also remember her daughter, the quarter breed who possessed the powers of the elements?"

"I'm tiring of your games Mora, get to the point or be turned into cosmic dust."

"Fine, fine. No need to get so huffy. The energy signature we found is Princess Kahleah's daughter, Khyla." Grumm scoffed.

"That's impossible, her powers were wiped out after I had her mother killed."

"Obviously not, because it's her that's causing the energy signature in New Tech city. Her father sent her there to be protected by the SPD Rangers after he thought you were threatening his precious baby girl." Mora said, putting on her best baby voice for her last sentence. Grumm let out an evil chuckle. "We also found out that she has taken a love interest in one of the rangers, the blue one to be precise." Grumm's chuckled proceeded as he felt the wheels of evil thought turning in his head

"What are you suggesting Mora?" Grumm asked, his patience with her returning.

"What better way to strike at the power rangers than to make them look like they can't do their jobs, and hurt them at the same time by taking away one of their precious things. Not to mention the fact that if you brainwash her, you can use her against them. They won't hurt her if they love her." Grumm smiled in his sadistic manner.

"Broodwing!" He called out. His henchmen fell from the ceiling, and landed with a thud moments after being called.

"You beckoned, Master?"

"Go to New Tech City, and get this girl for me. Do whatever you have to, but don't harm her. I need her to complete my evil plan." Broodwing nodded and turned to fulfill his orders.

"Your evil plan?" Mora exclaimed, "I came up with it! Don't take credit for my doings Grumm!" He roared at her, his eyes blazing again, causing her to scream and flee from the room. He relaxed back into his throne, day-dreaming about the looks on the ranger's faces when they realized that their precious charge was gone, and was being used against them. Once Broodwing had the girl, this plan would be fool proof. The power ranger's days were numbered, and he was enjoying every single moment of it.

**Again, I'm really sorry that I didn't update sooner, but I really was swamped. Please review! Tell me what you think!**


	9. White Smoke

**Authors Note: I am incredibly sorry that I haven't updated in a month and half! I feel terrible! Initially, I was planning to finish the chapter and a few others when I went on vacation to Italy because of the long train rides and plane rides, my computer thought differently. To make a long story short, it had to be taken to the computer hospital for emergency surgery which took about three weeks to fix. Needless to say, I was livid. I have it finished, however, and I will be sure to get the next few chapters up shortly as school is finished and I have a full summer to breeze ahead with.**

**(I might even be coming up with a sequel. Hmmmm...) **

**Now, On with the story!**

**Breaking Ground : White Smoke**

Khyla sat in her room idly, looking at the latest edition of Vogue, and wondering when the rangers were going to be back from their training so she could actually do something. As much as she was beginning to love being here among all of the B-Squad cadets, there was a part of her that was longing for the vibrant colors, and vivacious people of Phylia. It held so many memories for her, and she hated being away from it. As far as she knew, this was the longest period of time that she had ever been away. She was beginning to miss her father as well. In the past few months of her being at SPD, he had only visited her once, and rarely called her, which was very uncommon for him. Since her mother had been killed, he had constantly been checking up on her, calling her every hour just to make sure she was still safe, coming to her room to make sure she was still there; naturally, Khyla was perturbed by his lack of interest in her well-being, but also knew that it mean that he was working on something big.

She sighed heavily and dropped the arm holding her magazine to the duvet cover on her bed. She flitted her eyes up to the ceiling, over to her picture collage, to the opposite wall, and back again. Not even the pages upon pages of haute couture fashion screaming to be bought could distract her from her perturbed thoughts or her boredom. She was beginning to wonder if everyone had forgotten about her, when the hydraulic doors to her room opened, revealing the person she wanted to see the most at the moment, Sky. A broad smile came across her face as she felt her boredom and unpleasant thoughts float away. He smiled back, seeing the happy look on her face, and continued to enter her chambers. She pushed herself up off of her bed, and came across the room to meet him halfway in a tight embrace. He could feel her smiling broadly into his chest.

"Happy to see me?" He inquired, a playfully cocky air about him. She pulled away slightly and gave him a dissatisfied look.

"Happy to see anyone, really." She said, bashing his ego. He gave her a look of mock hurt, which she returned with a giggle.

"No, I'm just kidding. I was so bored, that I wanted to curl up and die. Not really of course, but you get the point." A moment of silence passed between the two, no moving, no speaking, just gazing at each other. Khyla studied his face. His features were so chiseled, and hard, giving him that look of authority and discipline. Khyla knew better than to fall for it entirely. There seemed to be this side of him that she only saw when they were alone together; a side of him that proved he could let loose and have fun if he was given the right opportunity, and that he was capable of showing emotions other than frustration and anger. Khyla had exposed a softer side of him, something that he was seemingly afraid to show anyone else. She gave him her signature half smile, and laid her head on his chest, just in the crook of his neck. He smiled again, loving the feeling of having her close to him.

"What would you like to do to get rid of your boredom, your highness?" He asked her softly, joking lightly.

"I don't know, something…anything." She replied. More silence. She shifted slightly, snuggling closer to him, pressing her forehead deeper into the crook of his neck. He adjusted his hold on her, bringing her in, closer to him. His mind began to wander, resting, as usual, on the subject of the young woman encased in his arms. He thought about everything that they had been through, their hatred for each other at the beginning, which had now become the exact opposite, and everything in between. Which made him wonder, they hated each other at first, and they became good friends after…where did that leave them now? Still friends? Friends with benefits? Or Boyfriend/Girlfriend? He pondered this topic, still holding Khyla tightly, and after not being able to figure it out, finally got the nerve to ask.

"Khyla?" He asked, not wanting to disturb her.

"Yes?" She answered.

"What are we?" He asked, hoping she would understand what he was talking about.

"ummm…Humans?" She half questioned, half answered, obviously not understanding his question.

"No, I mean…relationship wise. Are we just friends? Are we more than friends? What are we?" Khyla lifted her head from its resting position, and looked him sincerely in the eyes.

"Where do you want us to be Sky?" She asked him, her voice never faltering.

He was taken aback by her answer. No one had ever really answered one of his serious questions with an equally serious question before. He knew what he wanted to say, he was just wary of saying it, because telling Khyla that he desperately wanted to be with her, that he dreamt every night about kissing her, holding her, and being with her, that a moment never passed where he wasn't thinking of her would be laying too much on the line. In his life, he had always taken the safe route, the route that was by the rules, and by the book, the guided route. He had never seen a rule book or a manual on how to convey your emotions to someone you cared about, and winging things was not his forte. He was afraid of breaking the system, because in the system he felt safe; that if things did happen to go awry, he would have a set example of how to fix them. Here, he was on his own. There was no rule book, no guide to help him through this, and if he couldn't be honest with the one person in the world he cared about more than anything, then who could he be honest with?

Her stare was intense, and full of intent. He could tell that she was patiently awaiting an answer for him, just as she could tell that he was trying to formulate the best way possible to word his answer. When she saw that his mind had finally come back from its faraway place, and the determined look in her eyes, she was ready for the worst.

"I want us to be together Khyla. I want us to be together so badly I can taste it. I dream about it every night, even though I try to dream about other things, because I don't want to get my hopes up for something that might not ever happen. I think about you constantly; when I'm in weapons seminars, or martial arts training; virtual simulators or shooting practice; listening to Cruger debrief us…even when I'm on the battle field, I think about you. It's like you've gotten into my head somehow, and oddly enough, for the first time in my life there's this part of me that doesn't ever want that to go away." Khyla stared at him through his speech, listening to him spill his true feelings to her for the first time ever. She kept her look neutral, to keep him in the feeling that it was okay to talk to her, and that she would listen without passing judgments. She was getting through to him, slowly but surely. After not hearing a response from her for a few moments after his speech was concluded, Sky addressed her again. "What do you want Khyla?" He asked, genuinely concerned.

"If I can't get you out of my head, Schuyler Tate, I want you there even more and I don't ever want you to leave." Sky smiled ecstatically at her response. He picked her up, and spun her around, then planted his mouth upon hers in a binding kiss. All of his hopes had materialized, and he stood there with the girl he cared for more than anything. He felt like everything was right in the world.

"_ATTENTION, ALL SPD B-SQUAD POWER RANGERS PLEASE REPORT TO THE COMMAND DECK IMMEDIATELY….I REPEAT ALL SPD B-SQUAD POWER RANGERS PLEASE REPORT TO THE COMMAND DECK IMMEDIATELY…" _Kat's voice rang through the speakers like thunder clouds on a Mardi Gras Parade. He looked at the woman standing in front of him, his smile replaced by a look of seriousness. She nodded to him, acknowledging his call to duty. He placed a chaste kiss on her mouth, before letting her go; her fingers slipping through his as he unwillingly walked out of the room and ran to the command deck with all of the other cadets in tow.

She half smiled at him, knowing that his duties to humanity came first and foremost. She relished the feeling of his hand on hers as it slipped away slowly. After he was gone, she was left with only her thoughts, all of which were jumbled and irrational. She was consistently thinking of how much she cared for him, and how happy she was now that the fantasy she had been toying with since she and Sky began to get closer had finally become a reality. She stared at the ground, trying to slow the mounting excitement, and walked in loopy circles around her room. Her smile kept getting bigger and bigger until she couldn't contain it anymore, and she started to laugh whole heartedly. She leaned back, and collapsed onto her bed, her arms fell haphazardly on either side of her head. She sighed, and curled into her signature ball on her bed, closing her eyes to day dream about her new boyfriend. She was so entranced by her thoughts and fantasies that even her heightened senses didn't pick up on the faint traces of white mist flowing through the air conditioning ducts in her room.

This monster was easier than any they had ever fought before. It looked like a deranged version of Cookie Monster with leathery dragon-like wings, a demonic tail, beady black eyes that shot lasers at you, and talons that could cut through sheets of steel. Sky shrugged inwardly; to him this was just another one of Grumm's incompetent lackey's that would only take up space in their file storage compartment. Since Cruger had revealed himself as the Shadow Ranger, the battles were going substantially better, and had cut themselves shorter than the ones previous. It all seemed to be going perfectly, a fact which had begun to ebb away at Sky. He knew something wasn't right.

Unlike all of the other Monsters that Grumm and Broodwing had sent at them, this Monster didn't seem to have any real purpose or history. It was nothing like Sinukou and his chemical genius and his desire to give Grumm an Alien version of a Nuclear Bomb. Nor was it like Banagg and his quest to destroy Cruger because of an age old grudge that was held from Cruger's day's as a Delta on his home planet of Sirius. It wasn't even like Drew who was sent by Grumm and Broodwing to assassinate Cruger. This monster, from Sky's perspective, was starting to seem like a mere distraction. But the problem was, he couldn't figure out what Grumm was trying to distract them from.

Speaking of distractions, he was so distracted by his thoughts about the monster, that he didn't see it coming at him. The feeling of its claws tearing the skin off of the rotator cuff in his shoulder dragged him out of his thoughts as he was thrown backwards by the power of the monsters attack. He vaguely heard Sydney yell his name out of concern for his well being, and took it upon herself to avenge her friend's injuries. She attacked with a ferocity that was known to few. She could be a handful when she wanted to be. She watched as the monster attempted to block the rapid fire punches and kicks that Sydney was throwing it's way, but eventually it got so distracted by her fakes that it took some serious hits, and eventually lost its footing. Sky felt the vibrations of the monsters fall as he pushed himself up from his compromising position on the ground. Sydney rushed to his side.

"Sky are you alright?" She asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's keep this moving." He replied, determined to keep his focus on the task at hand. He watched as Jack and Bridge double teamed the monster, and eventually got him on his back yet again. Sky took this time to try to address Cruger.

"Sir?" Sky queried, standing next to Cruger.

"Yes Cadet?" Cruger replied gruffly.

"I'm getting a strange feeling that this monster is merely a distraction against something more important." He said, keeping his eyes on the monster and assuming a stance that prepared him for combat.

"So am I Cadet, so am I. I'm currently unable to decipher what that other something is, but I have Kat on watch for the rest of the city." Sky nodded in reply, then watched as Jack and Bridge were flung their way due to lasers fired by the monster. Syd and Z came to their assistance, helping the two up, then moving to their geometric formation behind Cruger.

She had never felt so tired in her life. She wasn't really sure what had brought on this spell of fatigue, but she was sure that it wasn't natural. The scenery around her began to swim together in to blurry blobs of colorful mass. She pushed herself off of the bed, thinking that splashing her face with water, and possibly drinking some might help pull her out of it. She walked in zig zags, unable to keep herself in a straight line. Had anyone been there to watch, they would have assumed she was in an absolute drunken stupor. She felt as though her legs were falling out from underneath her as the room began to spin. She grabbed onto her chest of drawers to catch her fall as her balance gave out. She slumped to the floor, leaning her head back on the less than furry carpet. She saw a great mass of black with stripes of red move towards her swiftly before her consciousness slipped away.

"Well Rangers," the monster addressed in its unearthly high-pitched voice, "this has been fun, but unfortunately, my duties have been completed." Sky drew his eyebrows together in confusion; what in the hell was this monster talking about? Jack had obviously thinking the exact same thing because he replied to the comment.

"What are you talking about? You haven't even come close to destroying us yet."

"Had that been my mission I would have succeeded a long time ago." It replied smartly.

"Then what was your mission ugly?" Syd retorted, obviously becoming impatient with the monsters attempted banter. Her answer came not in words, but in a way that chilled them all to the bone: a blood curdling scream.

Sky's head snapped to the left as he watched an event that made his blood run cold. Broodwing, followed by a small child, was literally dragging Khyla along as she struggled to break free. Her hands were bound by some solid, plastic looking form of handcuffs. His fury was spawned, and it was growing at a rapid rate as he realized what this monsters job was. Sky and Cruger had been correct in their assumptions that this monster was a distraction, but they never guessed that the distraction would be to draw them away from headquarters so that their enemies were able to infiltrate it, and kidnap one of their most valued charges. Sky moved to attack Broodwing, but Cruger stuck his arm out in front of him to stop him. Sky gave him a look of disbelief, which he wasn't sure if the commander could see. Broodwing, sensing and expecting this reaction, drew out a long blade and held it against Khyla's neck.

"Be careful Blue Ranger." The small child next to Broodwing said, her voice eerily innocent and soft. "You wouldn't want anything to happen to your precious little girlfriend now would you?" Sky's fury grew. He could feel his rage growing from, and spreading to every fiber of his being as he watched the scene unfurl. His breathing became deeper, and if looks could kill, Broodwing, the child, and the pathetic monster would all be long since dead.

His eyes were narrowed dangerously, his body filled with tension waiting to strike. His brain began going over every tactical hostage move he had ever learned at the academy. He knew that it was beyond reasoning, anyone affiliated with Grumm was beyond reason. He knew that there was no way to plan a tactical move using more than just himself since he had no way to convey his thoughts to the others, even though he was sure that they were all going over the same things in their heads. He came to the conclusion that the only thing he could really do was play the chivalristic Knight in Shining Armor with a better sword and a bigger gun, and save the damsel in distress from the evil dragon. At this point, he would have rather faced the dragon. Dragons blow fire, but Broodwing had a knife to Khyla's throat, which put both himself and her in very compromising positions. The small child met him in a stare, as if she could see through his helmet. She raised one of her eyebrows dangerously; an eerily innocent smirk crossed her face almost as if she could read his thoughts.

"Ah ah ah Blue Ranger. You know that Chivalry is dead." Her statement confirming Sky's prior suspicions about her mind reading capabilities. Broodwing, obviously becoming impatient with the stare down, began to move away from the Rangers, causing Khyla's eyes to go even wider than they were already. He knew he was going to pay for this dearly later, but there was no way Sky was going to let Broodwing just walk off with Khyla. He sprung into action, running past his team mates, and towards his captive girlfriend, being sure to use the speed his ranger powers gave him. He vaguely heard them yelling after him to stop, and Cruger barking orders at him to stand down, but he was numb, and the only thing that mattered was making sure that Khyla was safe. The child had a look of surprise on her small face, and Broodwing was desperately trying to think of some way to get out before the blue ranger made it to where he was holding her captive. The child raised her hand and sent a wave of energy towards Sky in defense, leveling him.

He felt as though every nerve ending in his body was on fire. The pain seared through every fiber of his being, and made him feel like he was being burned from the inside out. He collapsed as soon as the wave passed over him, the intensity of the pain making it impossible to stand. He wanted to just curl up and die so that the pain would go away. He felt its intensity lessen slightly, but it was a far cry from being gone. Every muscle in his body was tense, and was on the brink of convulsion. He felt his morph leave him, making the pain increase once again. He opened his eyes slightly, and saw Khyla being pushed through a portal by Broodwing as she was struggling to get to him. He heard dull sounds of screams and commotion. The last thing he saw before he succumbed to the pain was the evil child looking at him, her face screwed up into a malicious grin, and Khyla disappearing into the fathoms of the portal, her two captors behind her. Not being able to stand it much longer, his vision went black as he left the realm of consciousness, and slipped into a void of darkness.


	10. The Aftermath

**Authors Note: I have decided to stop posting disclaimers since everyone already knows that I don't own this, it has recently been deemed pointless and a waste of my time. Thank you, I'm sorry it took me so long, I had total writers block for like 2 weeks and could not think of how I wanted it worded. So if it's a little iffy, that's why. Thanks so much and enjoy chapter 10!**

**Breaking Ground : The Aftermath**

His eyelids felt like they had 5 pound bags weighing them down, the insides of which felt like sand paper on his eyeballs. He felt a dull pain surge back through his body as he slowly regained consciousness. He was aware of a foreign object lodged inside his left arm, and a faint beeping sound that was beginning to annoy the living hell out of him. There was a dull haze that hung over his head, keeping his thought process slow and incoherent. With half opened eyes, he looked across the room, vaguely aware of his surroundings. He had a feeling in the back of his mind, but in his delirious state, he was unable to decipher its message. The weight upon his eyelids began to lift gradually, allowing him to ease them open slowly and fully take in his surroundings. After a few moments of attempting to blink away the blurriness in his vision, he realized that he was in the SPD infirmary. Although everything was still just blobs of color, the whiteness of the walls and the beeping gave it away. A blob of darkness moved into his line of vision, and he was momentarily frightened, but when it spoke, he calmed immediately.

"Don't be afraid Sky, it's me." Kat's calm but sincere voice soothed him slightly, then, reality hit him like a lineman on a running-back. His eyes flew open, and he shot up into a sitting position.

"Khyla!" He tried to yell, but his voice would not oblige. He barely croaked the words out, his voice hoarse and scratchy. His whole body was tensed, and ready to spring into action. Kat's hands immediately went to his shoulders, and tried to push him back to the infirmary bed he was laying on.

"Lay back down Sky, you're nowhere near recovered yet." Her tone became sterner with every word she said. No sooner had she touched him, Sky began to get woozy, and his eyelids began to droop again. His muscles began to spasm at the sudden effort and tension. His vision went blurry once again as he felt his body weaken once more. Kat nodded, a look of deep concern coming across her features. "You need to rest Sky." She commanded.

"But….Khyla…" Sky choked out wearily, fighting to remain conscious. Kat looked at him sadly.

"We'll get her back soon Sky, don't you worry." He nodded slightly before his eyes closed, and his head slumped to the side, signifying that he had fallen unconscious once again. Kat sighed deeply, feeling sympathetic to the Blue Rangers plight. She turned to one of the medical cadet's that was standing idly at a counter and looked him in the eye. "Go and get another I.V. bag, his is running low, make sure to grab one of the extra electrolyte infused formulas, we need him back on his feet as soon as possible." The Cadet saluted, and ran off to get what she had demanded. Kat looked away from Sky, and walked over to one of her experimentation counters, hoping that running some basic genetic sequencing tests would take her mind off of the mess of situations at hand.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Cadet she had previously addressed walk past with another I.V. bag in hand, and heard him start to change it. She turned her eyes back to the screen and watched the test results unfold in front of her, which was no different than any of the other tests she had run previously. She heard the door to the infirmary open, and four familiar voices speaking. She turned her head around the corner and saw the rest of the B-Squad cadets moving towards the bed that currently held their second in command. She left her testing area, analyzing genetic sequences could wait.

None of the rangers were currently looking very well. They all had bags under their eyes accompanied by black circles, and stress written into every aspect of their demeanor. Jack looked exhausted, like he hadn't slept in days, which was more than likely due to the extensive CSI work he and a team of cadets had been conducting. Z and Bridge both had minor cuts and bruises from their last battle with the distraction monster, and were showing signs of overwork from the research, and evidence analysis they had been conducting. Even Sydney, the personal Hygiene police was looking particularly unkempt. Her eyes were puffy, signifying that she hadn't slept and that she had been crying, and she looked like she was about to start again. Cruger put her in charge of monitoring the city while Kat managed the infirmary, which was no easy task.

Kat greeted them with a small, sympathetic half smile, understanding what they must have been going through. Her heart went out to them, not only had they lost one of their most important, most valued charges, one of their good friends had been kidnapped, and one of their other close friends was currently in a coma-like state. The future was not bright.

Sydney's hands were covering her mouth, and it was obvious she was holding back tears. Bridge put a comforting arm around her, even though he looked to be in the same shape as her. Z stood idly, a blank, exhausted look on her face, and Jack stood there, looking completely helpless. Sydney moved her eyes away from Sky to look at Kat.

"Is he going to be okay Kat?" She asked softly, not really knowing whether she wanted to hear the answer.

"He has a strong will, he won't go down without a fight. His vitals are strong, and he woke up a few moments before you came in, it was brief, but it invalidated my previous suspicions that he had gone into a coma, which is excellent news." She said, trying to put a positive spin on the bleak results that were being produced.

"Do you know when he'll be recovered?" Jack asked, keeping his eyes on his fallen teammate. Kat sighed.

"There's no way of telling. We're giving him intravenous treatments with extra concentrations of electrolytes for better re-hydration and energy. Other than that all we can do is let him rest." Jack nodded, keeping his eyes locked on Sky.

"Do you know why this happened, Kat?" Bridge questioned.

"The weapon Mora used against him was an extremely exaggerated form of telekinesis, stronger than anything I've ever seen. She used her power to stimulate every nerve ending in his body, exhausting them to the point that they were almost non-functioning. If he hadn't been morphed, it would have stopped all nerve function and killed him. He was lucky to not be paralyzed."

"But he does have basic nerve functions, right?" Bridge asked worriedly.

"Fortunately there was no extensive nerve damage, the worst that may happen is he might lose feeling in a few areas, which may not be a bad thing at all. We did a full scan of his entire body, including his brain, and everything seems to be working properly. The only issue now is resting. The amount of energy it took for all of his nerve endings to be firing at once, as well as holding his morph for as long as he did exhausted him. He should wake up in the next few days, but as far as getting back to his daily routine, I'm not sure."

"But as you previously stated, he's a fighter, and he won't go down easily." Another voice said from the doorway. Commander Cruger stepped into the light, revealing another tired figure. Kat was beginning to wonder how much longer SPD could go on like this without having some serious security issues. "I just got off the phone with the President. Khyla's father has returned to Phylia on emergency business, and is unreachable, even for dire situations such as this, which gives us some time to conduct an investigation and even a reconnaissance mission before he finds out, which would make everything smoother for everyone. Cadets, please follow me to the command post for a debriefing on your recent findings." The cadets nodded and saluted, then followed the Commander to the familiar circular room. "Cadet Landors," Cruger said, addressing the red ranger, "Have your crime scene investigations returned any results?"

"Sir, our investigations have shown many results. We found a tank in the air vent that supplied the air conditioning to Miss Gabrey's room in which we found Nitrous Oxide gas. The same gas compound is used at dentist's offices to put their patients into a state of ease, and in strong enough doses to put patients, or in this case victims, into a state of unconsciousness." Cruger nodded, putting his hand to his chin.

"Did your investigations return any results on how Broodwing may have infiltrated SPD headquarters?"

"It has recently been brought to our attention, Commander," Bridge spoke up, "That Broodwing has the capability of morphing himself into an actual bat, not just a bat-like…looking….resembling…alien…thing. We have evidence that one of the vent covers for one of the main air ducts had been cut through with a low-grade laser. We think that's how he gained entrance into the compound." Cruger nodded again.

"Hmmm…This is not good news Cadets, we have no idea how much of our headquarters Broodwing has seen as there are ventilation ducts in every room." Cruger became quiet, obviously lost in his thoughts. An awkward silence fell over the room, no one knowing whether or not to speak, or what to say. After a few brief moments that seemed to last an eternity, Sydney cleared her throat, inciting the Commanders attention.

"If I may ask, sir, will we be going on a reconnaissance mission? And if so, when? How? And who will be going?" Cruger looked at Sydney long and hard, understanding her concern for her friend and charge.

"At the moment Cadet Drew, with Cadet Tate incapacitated and the A-Squad missing, I'm not sure if I can risk sending you to Grumm's ship to retrieve Miss Gabrey. I understand that she is in danger, but we cannot leave the earth unprotected, and with one of your team mates in a coma-like state, I'm afraid the prospects of a reconnaissance mission are not the first things on our mind at the moment." Sydney nodded politely, and stared at the table in front of her. "If that is all Cadets, you are dismissed. If your investigations wield any more results, contact me immediately."

"Yes sir!" They chimed as they saluted, and walked out of the room to get back to their current unusual duties.

He drummed his fingers idly on the arm of his throne, less than patiently awaiting the arrival of his two assistants and his new guest. While he knew that infiltrating SPD headquarters would be no easy feat, he was becoming more and more impatient with every moment that passed. It was not only unnerving to wait for so long from even so much as a word from those who were serving you, but it was irritating as well, a feeling that, much to his dismay, he was becoming all too familiar with. Not that he had a lack of reasons to be irate. Mora kept failing to deliver on reliable generals for Grumm's army, Broodwing had failed time and time again on supplying good machinery for the generals to use, and the thing that grated his nerves most was Cruger's precious little Power Rangers succeeding in defeating them every single time. He was sure that their file storage of criminals had doubled since Grumm had first decided to take over earth.

His eyes began to glow their eerie orange-ish red as his irritation grew. If they did not return soon he would be forced to make contact with them, which required effort on his part, and was something that made him very cranky indeed. He exhaled sharply, trying to release the excess frustration that was beginning to consume him. He was on the verge of destroying something in the immediate vicinity to keep him occupied, when he saw the wall inside his chamber begin to swirl. Moments later, turning into a vortex which was unmistakably a portal, it spewed out none other than the three people he was wanted to see. Mora came out first, her arm outstretched and palm flattened, obviously imitating the Alice in Wonderland character she was so infatuated with. Broodwing came next, with slightly more difficulty than Mora as something seemed to be pulling back against him. With one hard tug, Broodwing managed to pull his parcel out of the Vortex, revealing none other than Miss Khyla Gabrey. Had Grumm been able to smile, this would have been the one occasion where it would have occurred. She continued to struggle against her captor, but it was to no avail, she was on the ship, and his plans were coming to a head. Nothing could stop him now.

"Well Done Mora, Broodwing…" Grumm said addressing them both. Mora swelled with childish pride at a job well done. "Miss Gabrey," Grumm breathed, almost seductively, "Welcome aboard my ship. I hope you like it, because you're going to be here for a very long time." The girl stopped struggling, and glared at him menacingly. "I'm so happy you could join us," he continued, "You are a perfect candidate for our new program, code named D.T.P.R., or, in the long version, Destroy The Power Rangers."

"I'll never help you destroy anything." She said, her voice full of malice.

"Oh, you will."

"Not willingly, never in a million years."

"Who said anything about a prerequisite for willingness?" Her eyes went wide. "Broodwing, how quickly can you get brain transmographier?"

"It shouldn't take more than a week sire, I will call my provider right now." Grumm nodded.

"Mora, take her to a containment chamber, and make sure to put an extra guard of Krybots around her, you never know what Cruger has up his sleeve." Mora nodded in salute, had the Krybots grab Khyla, and pushed her out the door.

_He saw her clearly, through the fog, and the dust that had yet to settle. There was no sound, just the dull hum of nothingness that you sensed when everything was dead silent. He could sense that he was morphed, and felt energized and powerful, very much unlike he had been feeling for the past few days. In his mind, he had no idea where he was going, but there was something that was leading him somewhere, something subconscious that was telling his instincts where to lead him. He was in the confines of what looked to be the interior of a space ship, a very dark, dim, and unhappy looking place. Something in the back of his mind told him that this was Grumm's ship. He walked, as if being led by some invisible force, through the fog and dust towards his destination. In front of him lay an expansive laboratory, which seemed to be the testing place for weapons and other sorts of machinery. He saw Emperor Grumm and Broodwing conversing in the corner, pointing at a particularly large machine. It was tall, with an airlock door that was made of glass which blended perfectly with the glass wall that encased most of the machine._

He tossed and turned in his sleep, beads of moisture ran down his forehead and chest, covering his entire body in a cold sweat that only comes when horrid dreams plague the mind. He clutched at the sheets underneath his hands, balling them into fists so tight his knuckles turned to a sickly shade of ivory. Small gasps and moans escaped his throat, trying to convey some terror that only he could sense, and what a terror it was.

_He couldn't believe what he was seeing. The chamber was unfamiliar to him, and he had absolutely no idea what its purpose was, but knowing Grumm and Broodwing, there was no possibility that it could be good. There was movement at the base of the chamber, upon closer examination, he saw that it was inside the chamber, and what he saw next shocked and disturbed him more than words could convey. The figure moved again, the motions becoming more fluid and consistent, until it sat up and revealed itself to all those inside the laboratory. The long brown hair looked strangely familiar, the facial features jogging some part of his memory that seemed to be failing him at the moment. But it wasn't until he saw the piercing gray eyes that he recognized it. Khyla, the only person in the world he trusted, lay helpless in the chamber. Her wrists were bound with the same material that he remembered seeing at the battle where she had first been kidnapped. All of a sudden, his hearing rushed back to him, making him lose his equilibrium and knocking him entirely off balance. The voices were distorted, deeper, and almost hallucinogenic. He could barely make out what was being said as he collapsed to the ground in a total panic of over-stimulation. _

"_How many days Broodwing?"_

"_One week exactly sir, my provider has guaranteed it."_

"_Then in one week, we will…" The voices blurred together again, the same distortion multiplying tenfold. Clutching at his helmet where his ears were located, he tried to drown out the voices. He looked over at Khyla, all of her spirit and liveliness was gone. She was slumped over weakly, staring at a space on the floor in front of her, a silent tear rolling down her cheek. Then, through all of the chaos of voices that had been clouding his ears, one voice reached him above the others. _

_The entire scenery changed, instead of her glass casing she was in some sort of holding cell that looked more like a rock cave that was full of dirt and mold. Then, she spoke. "I wish…I wish I could see them again, just one last time. Where are you Sky? Didn't you say that you would always protect me?" Her body was racked with a sob as she tried to contain her emotions. "Help…Someone, anyone…Please…Help…"_

He sat up bolt right in his bed, his eyes wide, his breathing staggered. He had enough adrenaline flowing through his body to launch him into a full scale battle, and he felt his energy return. He looked around the darkened infirmary and saw nothing, no sign of other life. He threw the covers off of him, and yanked the IV out of his arm. He didn't care that he was dressed in pajama pants and nothing else, someone had to know what he had seen.

He was well aware of the fact that Bridge was the psychic one of the group, and he accepted that. But Bridge had also told him that when you make bonds with other people, bonds that are deep and emotional, they bridge a connection between those two individuals. He wasn't sure if he had seen a first hand account of what was happening to Khyla at this exact moment, or if it was a premonition, but someone had to know.

His legs felt like petroleum jelly for the first few steps he took. He was off balance, and almost unable to walk at all. But his will to help overpowered his body's weakness and pushed on, regaining all of its strength to finish this one task. He didn't care if he had to wake up all of SPD, he was going to find her, and nothing could stop him now. He walked as fast as his legs would carry him to the command deck, hoping that Kat would be there, working late on some sort of program or security system. The hydraulic doors opened as he approached the door, and he did a quick survey of the room.

"Jack!" Sky exclaimed desperately. Jack spun around in surprise.

"Sky? What are you doing out of bed? Kat's going to kill…"

"That doesn't matter Jack. Khyla's in serious trouble."

"Umm, duh. She was kidnapped three days ago." Sky's brow furrowed with fear.

"Three days? She only has four days left."

"Four days until what?"

"I don't know, but it's not good. It has something to do with a glass chamber…I can't quite recall…" Jack grabbed his arm and pulled Sky back to face him.

"What the hell are you talking about Sky? How do you know all of this?"

"I saw it, in my dream, just now. They're going to do something to her." Jack raised an eyebrow.

"Oookkaayy, looks like someone needs to get back to bed with some sedatives, I'll just escort you back to the…"

"Damnit Jack, I'm not fucking around! My girlfriend has been kidnapped by Emperor Grumm, now I don't really give a shit if you believe me or not, but I know what I saw, and if you won't help me do something about it then I'll go up there and save her myself!"

"No you won't." A voice commanded from the door. Both men looked and saw Commander Cruger and Kat standing in the doorway. Both snapped to attention and saluted. "Save it, we have issues to address. Cadet Tate, what are you doing out of bed, I do believe Miss Manx issued the order for you to be on bed rest until she declared you to be healthy enough to leave."

"She did sir, but I have urgent news regarding Khy…Miss Gabrey's well-being."

"And what urgent news would that be?"

"Sir, I think they're going to do something terrible to her."

"And what are you basing this conclusion on?" Sky sighed deeply, debating whether or not Cruger would believe what he was about to tell him.

"Sir, I had a dream, just now. Only it seemed to be more of a dream. Everything felt real. I felt like I was morphed, I felt the energy running through me. I saw Emperor Grumm, and Broodwing in a laboratory, and Khyla in a glass case sort of thing and…."

"Glass Case?" Cruger interrupted urgently, "What kind of glass case?"

"It was tall, and symmetrical, it had an opaque metal wall behind it and an air sealed door."

"And Miss Gabrey was inside this glass case?"

"Yes sir." Cruger's eyes went wide with sudden realization and put a paw up to his chin. There was a long pause where Cruger just sat with the same look on his face, unmoving, and not speaking. Sky finally broke the silence when he just couldn't take it anymore. "Sir? What's wrong?"

"It is as I feared. The regeneration of Khyla's powers was not by accident or coincidence, it was acutely timed. And Grumm knew it. This can only mean that the universe's worst fears have materialized. Grumm is going to brainwash her and use her as a weapon against us, and with her amount of training and power along with Grumm's total takeover of her mind, she will be nearly invincible, making the destruction of not only earth, but the rest of the Universe imminent."

BUM BUM BUM!

Please Review! I'll love you forever if you do! SANKS KIDS!

MWAH!

Kelly


	11. The Cure for Apathy

**Authors Note: I'm sorry that it took me so long to get this chapter up. I've had a really hectic last few weeks. P.S. Try to avoid going to Funerals, they're a real downer.**

**Authors Note 2: The experiences I've had recently have somewhat influenced my writing of this chapter. So if it's a little dark and depressing, I apologize. **

**Breaking Ground : The Cure for Apathy**

"It is as I feared. The regeneration of Khyla's powers was not by accident or coincidence, it was acutely timed. And Grumm knew it. This can only mean that the universe's worst fears have materialized. Grumm is going to brainwash her and use her as a weapon against us, and with her amount of training and power along with Grumm's total takeover of her mind, she will be nearly invincible, making the destruction of not only earth, but the rest of the Universe imminent." Everything stopped, nothing moved, and no one seemed to breathe.

"Imminent?" Jack finally managed to choke out. "As in, there's no way in hell we can stop it imminent?"

"Yes Cadet Landors, that imminent." Sky's eyes were wide, staring blankly at the wall in front of him. His hands were dangling at his side. Jack looked at Sky worriedly, wondering if he was going to collapse.

"Sir, what are we going to do about it? Sky said that Khyla only has four days until they can complete the procedure. We have to go on a reconnaissance mission immediately!"

"No. We must plan this effectively."

"But sir…" Kat interrupted.

"We must plan this effectively." Cruger said with finality. Sky snapped out of his trance. His features changed from blank and emotionless to one where he looked mad enough to spit bricks. He couldn't believe that Cruger was postponing this for planning purposes. His most valued charge was gone, in the hands of one of the most evil men in the universe, and was in danger of becoming his newest and most lethal weapon; something had to be done.

"Sir," Sky started, trying as hard as possible to remain calm. "I know that you've already lost the A-Squad because you sent them out on a mission against Grumm, but this is serious. By not going to get her, you're not only deserting her and leaving her in danger, but you're handing Grumm the greatest weapon anyone could ever possess. Sir, by not letting us go up there, you're putting us in more danger than you would be by letting us go." Cruger paused, letting the gravity of Sky's words sink in, and for a moment, Jack thought he had succeeded.

"Cadet Tate, Your use of emotive language is impressive, and I understand your position and your concern for Miss Gabrey, but we have no idea what we're up against. I cannot allow you to go in there blindly. We will plan and execute as I see fit." And Sky lost it.

He lunged for Cruger; his yells were incoherent and extremely loud. Jack jumped in front of him and held him back from doing something he would later regret. Kat jumped in to help as Cruger moved backwards into the Command Deck. He pushed a button on the intercom that connected him with the hospital wing.

"This is Commander Cruger" He barked into the receiver "Bring a sedative down to the command deck immediately!"

"Yes sir!" Jack was in the middle of desperately trying to hold Sky back. He made a last ditch effort and pushed him against the wall. Kat was trying to talk to him and calm him down desperately. Moments later the Infirmary Cadet came sprinting down the hall carrying a syringe full of sedative.

"What happened?" He asked breathlessly.

"Don't ask questions, just give him the sedative!" Cruger yelled. Startled, the Cadet rushed over to Kat, who at this point was helping Jack hold Sky and handed her the syringe. Kat grabbed his arm and stuck him with the sedative as quickly, but painlessly, as she could. As the sedative flowed through his veins and took its full effect, Sky relaxed and fell against the wall. His facial expression changed from blind rage to helpless realization. He began to slide down the wall as his strength left him, his blue eyes clouding over as a single tear slid down his cheek.

New emotions came over Jack as he watched his team mate go from one side of the spectrum to the other in a matter of seconds. As the leader of the team, he felt responsible for everything. Khyla's kidnapping, their inability to find her, and now Sky's complete and total break down. He felt helpless to the situation, and hopeless in regard of rescuing Khyla. Sky was right, Jack knew it, the team knew it and deep down Cruger knew it too.

Everything was silent as Sky's eyes fell closed and he slumped on to the floor. Kat was still breathing hard from helping Jack hold Sky, the empty syringe still in her hand. All eyes were on the unconscious young man on the floor. The infirmary cadet had left and headed back to the infirmary to keep up with his usual duties. Cruger had returned from the interior of the Command Deck and stood just outside the doorway, eyeing his best cadet with mixed emotions. Jack was the first to break the silence. He turned to the commander and took a deep breath.

"Sir, I apologize for…" Cruger held up his hand to silence Jack.

"Cadet Landors, emotions are a very powerful thing. Love being the most powerful of all. I understand Cadet Tate's behavior entirely, and sympathize with his predicament. I lost someone I loved once too, and that desperation to get them back is not at all foreign to me."

"Yes sir." Jack responded.

"I'll send for more infirmary cadets to bring a stretcher to carry Cadet Tate back to the infirmary. When he wakes up, we will begin to discuss and plan the possibility of a reconnaissance mission. Until then I suggest you get some sleep. You look like you need it."

"Yes sir." Cruger put a reassuring hand on Jacks shoulder, and gave him a nod before turning to return to his chambers. Moments later, two disheveled infirmary cadets, who had apparently been dragged out of bed to complete this unruly task, appeared carrying a white stretcher on which to put the unconscious Sky. Jack watched them handle him, glancing at him worriedly all the while. When they had succeeded in getting him positioned properly on the stretcher they hoisted it up and moved to carry him the short distance back to the infirmary where Kat was waiting. Jack gave them a last look before they left. "Take care of him." He said kindly. The cadet standing in front nodded in return.

"Yes sir." He said tiredly, and moved to walk towards the infirmary. Jack watched them walk down the hall until they turned the corner and were out of sight before walking back to his room. The next few days would be hard and interesting, to say the least.

_He felt energized again, with power coursing through his veins. He was morphed, and he knew it. The scenery was the same as it had been the previous time, the dark and grim surroundings, and that incessant instinctive nagging that was trying to lead him somewhere. The dull buzz had returned, and everything around him was silent. His journey was shorter this time, and the smoke was thicker than it had been previously. The only thing that differed from his last dream was his destination. This time he hadn't been led to a lab with a glass case, but led down another series of smoke filled corridors. He heard unearthly screams echoing in the distance, and felt the dampness in the surrounding environment. The air was putrid, and reeked of a smell that couldn't be described. Through the smoky haze, he made out the shapes of large metal doors with small openings that were accented by the bars within them. He knew he was in the dungeon of Grumm's ship. His focus shifted back to what lay ahead of him. The smoke stopped as he exited the hallway and entered a circular dead end with one door that was the same as all the others. As he approached, the heavy latch on the door undid itself loudly, and the door swung open slowly. Inside, he saw the same thing as he had previously; a glass containment case in which Khyla sat slumped on the floor. The same emotionless look on her face. Sky felt the instinctive conscience leave him and he was left with just himself. He shook his head slightly and blinked a few times, savoring the feeling of being able to control his own mind and body. _

_The dove down to the ground and put his hands on the glass, trying to get her attention. "Khyla!" He yelled through his helmet, hoping to elicit a response from her. Her eyes moved from their focal point on the gray floor of the case to Sky. She lifted her head slowly, and looked at him, as though she could see through his helmet. Her lip began to quiver and her eyes filled with tears._

_"Why won't you help me?" She choked out. _

_"I'm trying Khyla! Just tell me what I have to do and I'll do it." She looked at him more intensely than before, her eyes boring into his._

_"You can't save me Sky. This chamber is unbreakable. Nothing can get through it. Not lasers, not bullets, not even a diamond tipped drill. The only way out is through the door in the back, which is sealed with three encrypted codes and requires a DNA sample, a retinal scan, and a voice confirmation."_

_"What do I do Khyla? Tell me how to help you." The fog started moving into the circular room, wrapping itself around Sky and in between him and Khyla. "Khyla!" He yelled._

_"Sky, you have to…" Her voice became quieter and more distant with every word she said until it faded away entirely, the dull buzz of nothingness replacing it as the fog engulfed him entirely._

"NO!" He yelled aloud, sitting up with a start. He was breathing so heavily he was almost hyperventilating. He was sitting straight up in his bed, his left leg dangling off the edge and the covers twisted and contorted around his body. He took a moment to calm himself and get recollected before he assessed the situation at hand. He knew he couldn't tell the commander about it. Not only because Sky was afraid of what he'd say upon seeing him, but he had already made it quite clear that they weren't going to take any kind of initiative without a proper planning session, which, knowing Cruger, could take days. Sky didn't have days; he wanted Khyla out of there now, which meant he had only one option.

He tore the covers off of himself as best he could, stopping a few times to untangle himself from their inconvenient hold, and quietly placed his feet upon the infirmary floor. He snuck out the door, making as little noise as possible and made his way to his room. He opened the door normally, knowing that nothing could wake Bridge up when he was in his REM cycle, which was about where he'd be at this point, since the infirmary clock stated that it was 2 A.M. He moved stealthily through his room, finding his emergency flashlight in the drawer that resided in his beside table. He turned to his closet and chest of drawers and pulled out a neatly folded SPD uniform sitting in his drawer. He dressed as quickly and quietly as he could, grabbed his morpher from his bedside table and moved to leave. He stopped, and shone the flashlight over a picture that resided next to his lamp. It was the six of them outside SPD headquarters looking very happy and carefree. Khyla had insisted that the picture be taken so she could remember her experiences here forever. He turned the flashlight off as he walked towards the door, and took one last glance at Bridge. His team mate was snoring lightly, and wrapped up tightly in his green sheets. Sky gave a half smile and said a silent goodbye, hoping that this wouldn't be the last time he'd see him. He turned to exit the room and found the door already open, Jack standing in the doorway. Sky's eyes went wide, fear quickly overtaking him. Jack's expression was neutral and calm.

"Going somewhere Sky?" He asked, almost patronizingly. Sky sighed heavily.

"You know where I'm going Jack. And you also know that even if you take me back to the infirmary and put me under heavy guard, I'll still find a way to get there." Jack nodded, his expression quickly changing to understanding.

"I know that something has to be done, and soon. Cruger knows it too, but you were right when you said that he was scared to lose another team."

"So, are you just going to let me go?" Sky said disbelievingly.

"Of course not Sky, what kind of idiot do you think I am?" Sky's posture relaxed greatly, conveying great inconvenience, irritation, and hopelessness all at the same time.

"I'm going with you."

Broodwing was beginning to get nervous. His provider had said that he could indeed get the necessary parts that they needed to make the glass-alloy containment cell into a successful brain transmographier; however, he had yet to follow up on how much longer it was going to take. Broodwing would go out and find the provider if he wasn't such a nomad, and if he knew his name. Every attempt Broodwing had ever made at tracing him had ended with nothing. He was pacing back and forth in the lab that they were going to use to change the Ambassador's daughter into Grumm's greatest asset.

He was also surprised that the Power Rangers hadn't shown up yet to try and rescue her. He knew that Mora had done a number on their blue ranger, who was rumored to be the second in command, but he had assumed that Cruger would find a replacement and send them back up here in full force to get her back. Grumm had told him to double the security around Khyla's cell in the last few days, since Cruger's lack of initiative had made him nervous as well. The familiar beeping of the contact screen pushed through is thoughts and forced his attention. He set his eyes on the viewing screen as bars of color began to appear. A familiar voice rang through the audio.

"Broodwing?" It asked tentatively.

"Yes, is this my provider?"

"I have your parts; I will have one of my minions deliver it to you."

"When will they be here?"

"They should be arriving in the next 12 hours." Broodwing smiled evilly.

"Excellent. Your money will be sent with him."

"Good. You know who to contact if you need anything else." And with that the viewing screen went to black. Grumm would be pleased, very pleased at this sudden ability to push up the date of the girl's transmographication. Grumm would have his weapon sooner, which meant he would have his planet sooner, and the destruction of the Power Rangers would be complete. Everything was falling into place now, and the universe would soon be under Grumm's control.

"I'm going with you." Jack repeated, after receiving a confused stare from his teammate.

"What are you talking about Jack? You can't do that?"

"Let's not forget who is the commanding officer here Sky." Sky looked dejected and put out. "Listen," Jack started, his tone kinder. "You're not the only one who cares about getting Khyla back. You may not know this, but we have been working day and night since she was kidnapped to try and find out how it happened and what they're going to do with her."

"But I already know that, so let me go."

"I'm going with you Sky. You can't face this alone. I know that you feel responsible for her kidnapping, we all do, but there is no way that you can take on Grumm, and Broodwing and Mora all at once. The last time you tried that knight in shining armor thing you were out for three days, and I am not going to leave you stranded up there." Sky was silent as he took in what Jack said, and he knew he was right. He was going into this blindly, and it would be better to have someone there with him to watch his back.

"Okay. Let's do this." The door to Sky's room closed behind them as they headed of towards the zord bay, knowing that they had very little time to get into their zords and make a quick getaway before Cruger would send someone after them. They decided to take Sky's delta runner since it was a flying vehicle, and made their morph and entrance into the runner as fast as they could.

Kat was doing her usual night watch in the Command Deck when a signal caught her attention. She typed in a code and saw that the sensors had picked up two large energy signatures in the zord bay. Fearing that it may have been another infiltration by Grumm's goons, she sent an urgent page to Commander Cruger. Then she saw the alarm indicating that there had been a manual override of the system that operated the doors in the zord bay, more specifically, the door that opened the hatch for Sky's Delta Runner. Her first inclination was that Grumm was stealing the Delta Runners for his own personal use. Upon further thought, she realized that they wouldn't steal just one delta runner, that they'd take all 5 of them, and that no one else had the manual override code except for herself, Commander Cruger and the B-Squad cadets. Then it hit her. She pushed the intercom button for the infirmary.

"Yes ma'am" The cadet spoke into the speakerphone.

"Is Cadet Tate still in his bed?" She asked rather harshly.

"Uh, he was the last time I checked, ma'am."

"Check again please." She said, this time with more urgency than harshness. She waited for a few moments while the Cadet went to check on the status of Cadet Tate.

"Uh, Miss Manx, Cadet Tate is, uh, missing."

"Damn." She said, and then hung up. Cruger arrived just as she clicked off, and demanded to know what was going on. "Cadet Tate has decided to go on a personal reconnaissance mission." She said, sounding distraught. "He's manually overridden the controls and opened the doors from the computer at the zord bay."

"Can you stop it?"

"No, the manual override code is unbreakable. I can't do anything until it finishes the sequence that it was given." Cruger swore loudly.

"Get me online with Delta Runner Two, and get the rest of B-Squad in here immediately." Kat moved to sound the alarm that would awaken only the B-Squad and tried to get the connections to Delta Runner two online. Static indicated that Kat had been successful at establishing a means of communication between the base and the zord that had been taken. "Cadet Tate return to SPD headquarters immediately, that is an order!" Cruger almost yelled into the speakerphone. They waited for a few seconds before receiving nothing but a loud static from the other end. "Cadet Tate, do you read me, Cadet Tate, return to SPD headquarters immediately, do you copy!" The static continued, as a worried look came to Kat's face. "What is it Miss Manx?" Cruger said, massaging the bridge of his nose.

"The static that you are receiving indicates that the Delta Runner has left earth's atmosphere. The GPS coordinates are leading to somewhere in the D sector of the galaxy, and have focused on a large asteroid like structure, which I am assuming is Grumm's ship." Cruger put both hands on the edge of the desk and leaned over placing weight on his arms defeated. "There's one more thing." Kat said after a long pause.

"Yes?" Cruger replied, not moving.

"There were two energy signatures in the zord bay, signifying that Cadet Tate wasn't alone. Cadet Landors has gone with him."

"Shit."

The adrenaline rush was almost more than he could handle at this point. Cruger's voice had just come over the radio as they began to exit earth's atmosphere. It became more and more static-y until all that was left was static. He heard Cruger say something about an order, and SPD headquarters, but the static was too great to make out what he was saying. Sky leaned over to switch off the radio so he could focus on driving before de-morphing, Jack following suit.

"I don't even want to think about how much trouble we're going to be in when we come home." Jack said sitting up in his seat. Sky paused.

"All I can think about right now is getting Khyla back. Anything past that is irrelevant, as long as she's safe."

"You really care about her don't you?" Sky sighed.

"I think I'm in love with her." Their conversation was interrupted by the alarm going off inside the runner.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"It's the transmission interception system. It was installed in the blue delta runner since it was the only flying vehicle which made it easier for it to intercept enemy transmissions."

"What do you think this one is?"

"Usually they're just cell phone calls that the interceptor thinks are transmissions. I usually just ignore it, but since threess not many cell phone transmissions coming through this area, and it's 2 A.M. I'm willing to bet that it's something else." Sky began flipping switches and turning knobs until the transmission came out over the Speaker system in the cockpit.

_"When will they be here?"_

_"They should be arriving in the next 12 hours."_

_"Excellent. Your money will be sent with him."_

_"Good. You know who to contact if you need anything else." _

"That was Broodwing's voice." Jack said.

"I know, which means that this machine that they're going to use to brainwash Khyla is almost complete. If they're going to have the parts in twelve hours Jack, that doesn't give us much time to go in there and get both her and us out safely."

"I know. What are we going to do?"

"We need a plan. A really really good plan."

He had been very pleased when Broodwing told him that the parts to complete the machine had been shipped and were now on their way to him. Broodwing asked if he desired that the girl be brought back up to the lab. Grumm declined, stating that he wanted her to be as miserable as possible for as long as possible. He knew that his dungeon was one of the most miserable places in the Universe, and he intended to make her stay there as long as possible.

He stood up from his throne, and walked to his viewing globe. Instantly, it brought up an image of earth, rotating on its axis. "Soon," he breathed, "Soon, you will be mine, and everything happy and green and beautiful will be desolated into ruins, and nothing can stop me!"

He had waited less than patiently for the next 12 hours, pacing back and forth in his throne room, looking at the viewing globe for a few moments, and then resuming his pacing once again. Had it not been for the fact that Broodwing got all of his weapons from this provider, he would have found him and had him liquidated for lack of effort to get it to them quicker. He thought about turning the deliverer into Cosmic Dust, but decided that it wasn't worth his energy. Once he had the necessary parts, it would only take a few more hours to get the machine up and running, then nothing would stop him from taking over the rest of the galaxy.

After 5 hours of pacing about his throne room, he became exceedingly bored and irritated. Desiring something else to do to occupy the remaining hours before the arrival of the parts, Grumm decided to pay his future weapon a visit, to make sure that her last hours of free thought were her worst. He reveled in other being's misery, and knew that it would only make him anticipate the machine that much more; not to mention watching the girls face contort as she realized that her last few hours were to be spent inside the crypto-glass chamber that had been outfitted especially for her.

He walked past the many doors that led to different cells in his dungeons, the other-worldly screams sounding like a symphony to his sadistic ears. He held his staff in front of the door, forcing the heavy latch to lift itself and allowing him access to the damp, disgusting cell in which he housed his most "valuable" prisoners. She had her head pressed against the glass, her eyes closed as if she were in a peaceful sleep. She had dark, puffy circles under her eyes, indicating lack of rest, and most likely tears. This sight made him very happy indeed. Deciding that watching her sleep was too mushy and human of him. He reached his staff to tap, or rather bang, on the glass to wake her. She jump started out of her sleep, moving her hands to cover her ears from the reverberations of the sound waves echoing off of the tightly encased glass walls. They were stopped by the metallic bindings that held them together. Grumm flashed his evilest smile at her.

"I trust that you like your accommodations, Miss Gabrey?" Grumm asked with mock politeness. He awaited a response from her, but eliciting only a death-wishing glare from her cloudy gray eyes. He began to pace in front of her confinement, like a father in front of a child that was being lectured. "In a few hours time, the machine will be complete, your confinement case will be taken up to the laboratory, and then you can say goodbye to that free thinking brain of yours. All that you will know will be what I tell you. And do you know what the first thing on my list will be? Power Rangers are evil and must be destroyed, destroy them. Then, using your massive amounts of power, you will take them down one by one, making sure to give an extra long and painful death to both Commander Cruger, and that Blue Ranger that you love so much. You will go on just like that, planet after planet, until the entire universe is under my control!" Her eyes welled with tears of anger and frustration.

"It'll never work Grumm. I'll never use my powers to help you. I'd rather use them to kill myself than to help you." She spat at him.

"Oh, my dear, you can't use your powers until I tell you to." She looked at him quizzically, wondering what in the hell he was talking about. He gave her a mocking laugh. "Don't tell me that you don't remember your lessons on space metals from your schooling. Your teachers would be very disappointed. The bindings you have around your hands are not standard titanium or aluminum. But rather, Adamantine, the strongest, most durable metal in existence. In its rarity, it also possesses certain powers. The power to heal those who are about to die, and the ability to restrict the power flow of those who are endowed with special powers. In other words, Miss Gabrey, even if you wanted to fill this entire chamber with water and drown yourself, upon trying to use your powers, all you would receive would be a large shock, much like that of an electric dog collar. However, if you don't believe me, you are welcome to try. Pain and suffering has always been my ideal entertainment." She was glaring daggers at him, and if looks could kill he would have been long since dead. The anger coursing through her was sparking her source, making her power flow through her involuntarily. Then she felt it, the metal around her wrists, taking the power and dragging it out of her like a vacuum on a dusty floor. Her energy began to fade as her eyes drooped lower and lower, till she could barely see. "Oh and one more thing Miss Gabrey," Grumm said before turning to walk away. "Involuntary attempts at using your powers will only cause the metal to drain you of them, bringing more power into the metal and increasing the shock value. I'll see you in a few hours." And with that he turned and walked away, leaving an exhausted Khyla in his wake. The heavy metal door slammed shut, causing more painful vibrations to echo through her cell. She was too exhausted to try to cover her ears, and soon, the black veil of unconsciousness slipped over her, causing her vision to go from blurry, to nonexistent as she left this realm, and entered limbo once again.

The journey to Grumm's ship had taken longer than either of them had expected. Their initial thoughts had been no more than an hour and a half, when in real time it had been almost double that. Not to say that the extra time wasn't used. They needed all the time they could have to formulate a plan that would be easy to execute, yet effective and deceptive enough that they could slip in undetected and get out as quickly, yet as cavalierly as possible. They sat idly in Space, watching Grumm's ship closely, and monitoring the surrounding area for any kind of activity. Jack sat tapping his fingers against the center console, trying to take his mind away from the boredom that was consuming him. Sky, on the other hand, was pacing back and forth going over the plan over and over again to make sure that there weren't any flaws that could be picked up by Grumm and later used against them. Jack turned his attention away from his rhythmic tapping to Sky, hoping that a little banter would ease both of them.

"Sky, if you keep pacing like that you'll put a hole in the floor of your ship and then we won't be able to go anywhere." Sky gave him his trademark glare, before walking over and sitting down, rather unceremoniously, into the driver's seat of his delta runner. "Relax man!" Jack said, for both of their sakes, "The plan we have is immaculate. I know it will work. Just relax and focus on your goal." Sky nodded, and clapped a hand on Jack's shoulder.

"I just want to say, even though we haven't always been the best of friends, I'm really happy you came along. There's no way I could do this alone and I'd rather have you here with me than anyone else." Jack smiled at him, taking in his words.

"Thanks man. I'm always here for you. Now…" He was cut off by the sensor alarms going off loudly around them. Sky swiveled his chair so he was facing his on board computer and brought up the visual.

"There's a ship coming into this portion of the sector. It's on a direct course with Grumm's ship and it's slowing down." Sky reported.

"That's our man! Okay Sky, remember the plan, not that it will be a problem for you since you just recited it back to yourself three thousand times. Ready?" He looked over at Sky and received the confirmation he knew he would get. "SPD, Emergency!" They morphed as quickly as they could, Sky springing back into his seat, and buckling his seatbelt, Jack following his example, and taking his seat at his computer.

"Engaging camouflage shields." Sky said officially, typing rapidly into the computer. The delta runner began to move forward, Sky easing it into the wake of the much larger ship in front of them.

"Don't forget to line up the doors, Sky." Jack reminded him. Sky nodded, and guided the runner a little bit farther forward and to the left, lining his entry door, and one of the entry shafts into the larger ship as precisely as possible. Jack walked up to the door, and gave Sky a thumbs up. "See you on the other side." Jack said, using his favorite cliché expression. Sky returned the gesture, and turned the delta runner's engines off, as the large ship had docked and stopped moving. Moments later, the creaking of a large metal door could be heard, and got louder as the door to Sky's delta runner opened also.

"Is the camouflage still engaged?" Jack whispered through their helmet communicators.

"Yes, it should have enough energy to stay that way until we get back."

"Should?"

"Just go! And close the door behind you!" They moved stealthily through the large ship, past the landing deck where the ship's occupants were disembarking, and down to the cargo exit that would be under the least amount of guard. Hiding behind a large crate full of what looked like decrepit bolts, Jack leaned over to Sky.

"So we neutralize the movers, make our way onto the ship, and get to her, am I right?" Jack asked.

"It won't be that easy Jack. I'm not even sure where on the ship she is."

"But you said those dreams that you had showed you the way to where they were keeping her!"

"Yes, but it was different each time. The first dream was in a large white laboratory that was on the upper levels of the ship and much harder to get to. The second was in a dungeon that was in the bowels of the ship, and much easier to get to. The lab was much more heavily guarded, and the dungeon was almost deserted. We're looking at two entirely different tasks here, and I'm not quite….AH!" He was overcome by a rush of pain to his head so excruciating that he fell onto Jack. Fortunately, Jack's reflexes were quick enough that he was able to catch him and lower him down slowly and quietly while Sky writhed in pain.

His consciousness was immediately taken somewhere else, and he saw the white smoke envelop his vision again. When it cleared, he was back in the tunnel, just like he had been in his other dreams, only this time the nagging in his brain wasn't as strong. It was still guiding him, and telling him where to go, but it was lacking something. The voice was softer, the feeling was lighter, and he felt that he had control over his body as opposed to being surrendered completely to his guide. He slowly began to recognize the journey they were taking, and suddenly came to the realization that the nagging was trying to tell him where Khyla was. His consciousness returned to him, the pain had decreased immensely, though was still there slightly. He looked up at Jack who was hovering over him, and even though Sky couldn't see it, he knew that there was worry etched all over his face.

"Are you alright?" Jack asked. Sky nodded and pushed himself up with more energy and more intent than he had ever felt in his life.

"I know where she is, and I know exactly how to get there." Jack nodded and put his hand on Sky's shoulder.

"Let's do this."


End file.
